From Miami to LA
by lunastars
Summary: After telling the team that he was a cop and getting Johnny Tran sent down Brian left for Miami where he got into his own adventures. Now he's coming home to LA to make amends.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys, this one is set just after the first two movies. In terms of the first film they got something on Johnny Tran and that, and none of that stuff happened with the team, the feds left Dom alone, Vince was never on the truck and Jesse didn't get shot. However they found out Brian was a cop so he left to go to Miami where the exact same events from the second movie happen. This fic is him coming home to LA to make amends.**

Brian O'Conner was your average newbie cop, he even got to go undercover not long into the job. He was loyal and obedient to the badge with a little bit of attitude under this belt, but that all changed when he met Dominic Toretto and his team. Brian had to get in with Dom to find out who was behind a bunch of highjackings.

Dominic Toretto was and probably still is the king of the LA street racing world. He'd never lost a race before and wouldn't ever plan on losing. He was your typical tough guy who would rather die than go back to prison. His little team made up his family. The one member who really was family was his little sister Mia. She was the good half, the better half of the Toretto siblings. She never got too involved in the team's mischief but she was there if they needed her. The other member who was closer to being an actual member of family was Letty, Dom'a girlfriend. She was into him and cars from the age of 10 but when she turned 16 she had his attention. Then there's Vince, he'd known Dom since they were kids and he'd even had a history with Mia. Vince was the tough guy with anger problems, the only person who came close to Vince in terms of physical stature was Leon, although Leon was more clean cut and probably less of a hot head. That left Jesse, the smallest and most timid out of all the guys, but don't be fooled Jesse could always stand his own.

While Brian was with them he managed to get a local bad boy Johnny Tran on various charges, he even got his team sent down and got the highjackings blamed on them. That didn't change anything when Dom found out he was a cop, not wanting to anger him or upset the team Brian left to go home to Miami.

While in Miami he got brought in after a race one night. The cops and feds told him if he helped them then they wouldn't charge him for illegal racing. Reluctantly he had agreed and even brought his old childhood friend Roman Pearce in to ride with him.

After all that Roman and Brian opened up a garage but a year or so later Brian decided to return home to LA to make amends.

* * *

"What the hell are you doing here?" Dom shouted as he walked into the diner.

Brian was sat down at the bar talking to Mia. She looked a bit pissed and tense but other than that she seemed fine.

"I came to make amends," Brian said slowly, never turning around.

"Make amends?" Dom asked angrily. "You were a fucking cop, Brian. You lied to me, my family, _my sister._

At that Brian stood up and faced Dom. "Look, I lied, but I did everything I could to get them all off your back! And as for you sister-"

"Don't even talk about her or to her," Dom threatened as he shoved Brian into the bar and held his shirt angrily.

"I loved her man!" Brian shouted. "I never meant to hurt her, my feelings for her were real, I didn't mess her about! I was always the Brian you knew, the only thing you didn't know was that I was cop."

Dom went to punch him but Mia screeched, "wait Dom, no!"

She ran around the front of the bar and separated the two of them. She stood between them and faced Brian.

"Mia..." Dom started.

"You're a dick, Brian," Mia whispered, ignoring her brother. "But do you mean it? You actually liked me...?"

"Yes, Mia," he said softly. "I don't expect us to happen again but I was hoping that you, your brother, the team would forgive me. Let me come back."

"Hell no!" Dom growled.

Mia didn't say anything, just lapsed into thoughts. As she did the rest of the team came in.

"Yo, what's the buster doing here?" Vince demanded.

"Shut up, Vince!" Mia shouted.

"I came to make amends," Brian whispered, never taking his eyes off of Mia.

"Fuck you and your amends," Vince growled.

The others didn't say anything, just nodded.

"You guys are so closed minded!" Mia growled while turning to face them. "Jess if it wasn't for Brian then Tran wouldn't be in prison, Tran would've been able to come after you after what happened at Race Wars! Then Vince, if he hadn't told us he was a cop we'd never have known about the truckers fighting back, you could've gotten hurt if you went a head with the heist. And you Dom, if it wasn't for Brian you could be in prison!"

"I hate to say it," Letty whispered. "But she is right."

"Yeah, I'd hate to think what Johnny would have done to me," Jesse said.

"Are you guys shitting me?" Vince demanded.

"Come on, bro," Leon spoke up. "He did help an awful lot."

"He was a cop!"

"Shut up, V," Dom said. "Mia is right. I ain't saying he's in my good graces but I'll give him a shot."

Vince went to protest but Mia spoke to Brian, "where are you staying?"

"A hotel."

"Come home with us, maybe we'll have room for you," Mia said with a smile.

Vince went to protest but Mia made a remark about how it was her house and only Dom could protest, when he didn't she took Brian's hand and guided him outside.

He smiled awkwardly at her as they got outside. She wondered over to his car.

"Nissan, eh?"

"Yeah," Brian laughed. "It got toasted while I was in Miami but I managed to fix her up at my garage."

"You own a garage?" Mia asked excitedly.

"Yeah, me and my homeboy Rome," Brian explained. "We had to work for the cops so that I wouldn't get arrested and his house arrest would be lifted, we took some of the money the cops confiscated from the guy and we used it to set up a business."

"So you're not a cop anymore?"

He shook his head, "I quit, I don't belong there anymore, Mia."

He stroked her cheek and moved strands of hair out of her eyes. He smiled down at her and that grew when she smiled back. He could feel himself moving closer to her, and he even leaned down.

"Easy tiger," Mia smiled as he was about to kiss her. "I'm on your side but that doesn't mean to say I've fully forgiven you."

"I guess I'll have to watch my back then," Brian sighed as he moved away.

**It's pretty short but I wanted to give you guys a taster! Let me know what you think so far :) I'll try to update as soon as possible!**


	2. Chapter 2

Brian hopped into his car but had to move faster when he noticed Mia had already pulled off. He didn't bother with his seatbelt as he turned on the engine, prepared the car and then moved. Once he was out on the road he saw Mia was a couple of cars a head, he tried to keep up with her and he continued to do so even after he realised that Mia wasn't heading back to the house.

Almost an hour later he realised that theyf'd gone round in circles, only this time round they stopped near the beach. Mia parked up first and when she got out she sat on the hood of her car. Brian parked up beside herf and figured it was best to sit on his own car rather than on hers.

"Why now?" she asked without looking at him.

He shrugged. "I don't know, Mia. I wanted to give you some space I guess, then all that shit happened in Miami and Rome and I had already planned on opening a garage… To make sure we got it set up as soon as we decided not to race or anything, eventually it was just me, Rome and the garage… I had so much free time on my hands, I thought of you the entire time, I had nothing to do in order to push the thoughts away."

"I thought about you too," she whispered.

"In a good way or a bad way?" he gulped.

"Bit of both," she said honestly. "I hated you for what you did but I guess it could have been worse… I was only pissed because you broke my heart."

"I didn't mean to," he said miserably.

She didn't respond, she just looked out over the water. Brian watched her; afraid to speak just in case he said the wrong thing. Instead she never said anything, she just jumped off of the car and got back inside. Brian sighed as he too got off of his car. Instead of getting straight into the car he kicked a nearby stone in frustration.

This time around they drove straight back to the Toretto's, Brian had come to the conclusion that she was trying to hold back on taking him home because of the team. He couldn't blame her, he didn't want to upset or anger any of them.

When they did arrive back the Toretto house was much like Brian remembered. It was a lot brighter than he remembered but other than that it was the same. When they rounded the corner he saw that Vince, Leon and Jesse were on the couch while Dom and Letty were in the kitchen preparing dinner.

Mia gave Brian a reassuring smile before going off into the kitchen. Once she was out of sight Vince stood up and made his way over to Brian. Leon followed in close pursuit but Jesse sat timidly on the couch.

"Come on, man," Leon started as Vince got closer. "Just leave him be."

"Look, I'm watching you, alright?" Vince warned as he ignored Leon. "We've let you back for now but that doesn't mean to say we trust you. One wrong move or if you hurt Mia again then you better run."

By this point Leon had stood between them. He did this in order to make sure that a fight wasn't started. There was no need however as Brian wasn't going to retaliate, he was just going to be the bigger man.

"I'll be on my best behaviour," Brian promised. "I won't hurt any of you again."

It was the response that Vince wanted but he was expecting more than just that, it made him angry that Brian was so calm. He growled and even tried to get around Leon to grab Brain but he stopped abruptly when Dom came out of the kitchen.

Vince gave Brian a warning look as he backed away and sat down on the couch. Leon shrugged as he too walked away. By this point both Letty and Mia had come back in to join everyone. Mia sat down next to Vince so that she, he and Jesse were all sat on the couch. Dom and Letty took up the armchair while Leon and Brian both took the floor.

"What happened to you after we cast you out?" Jesse asked quietly, trying to spark a conversation.

"Well, I told you all about me being a cop just before, I had to stop you from going on the heists… Thank God you stopped, it meant I could get it pinned on Tran and it would pass," Brian explained. "He was already going down for years anyway, same with his team, so it made no difference if he got this added on top of him. Everyone believed it anyway, probably for the same reasons, it wasn't like they were sending a non-guilty person down, so they gave me a promotion."

"What kind of promotion?" Jesse asked, sounding oddly excited.

"A big one," Brian sighed. "A pay cheque almost triple what I was originally getting, major benefits including life insurance and health insurance coverage, company car and well so many other benefits that I didn't even bother to read them."

"Why not?" Mia asked.

"I turned it down of course," Brian said as if it were obvious. "There was no way I would work for the force now, that's why I made my way to Miami."

"What happened in Miami?" Dom asked, he had no emotion in his voice.

"I settled for a bit and got into racing with my man Tej," he shrugged. "I met some other people too and one night I was racing but the police showed up, I got caught."

"And I'm assuming they didn't bust you for it," Letty commented.

"Nope, they cut me a deal," Brian explained. "If I helped them to catch local drug exporter Carter Verone then they'd let me go."

"How does your friend Rome fit into this?" Mia asked quietly.

"They set me up with some guy who knew nothing about cars, he would blow the cover," Brian shrugged. "So I asked if I could pick my partner. They cut him a deal too, Rome was on house arrest, that would be lifted if he helped us."

"Why did he need to know about cars?" Jesse asked, even more intrigued than before. "Did you get some of your own?"

"Yeah, they supplied us with a couple," Brian grinned. "I got the 2002 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII and Rome got the 2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder GTS."

"OK, I hate the cops and feds and all that shit," Jesse said slowly. "But to be honest, they give out some pretty hot cars."

"There's better cars," Vince grumbled.

"Aw, don't be too sulky," Mia said as she nudged his arm. "I'm going to go get dinner. Just think about how much you love food."

Vince just grinned at her, everyone could tell it was more for her benefit rather than anything else. As Mia got up to go into the kitchen Letty followed close behind. Soon Letty came out with different plates and handed them to certain people. She kept going backwards and forwards between the living room and kitchen till she and Mia came out with their own plates.

"Seen as we can't wait for someone to grab food first," Dom started. "Brian, you say grace."

He made no objections and as he was sat down on the floor he put his plate in front of him and put his hands together. He waited for every member of the team to close their eyes before he did. He then went on to say he grace. He thanked god for the meal, getting Tran sent down and for the team letting him back in, for now.

When he opened his eyes Vince and Leon went straight into eating as did Dom. Jesse and Letty both gave him a little thumbs up as they too started to eat. When he looked over to Mia she had started to smile at him.

* * *

Almost an hour later all of the team had finished and Brian had volunteered to do the washing up, of course no one objected but Mia offered to help out. Due to this Vince chose the seat closest the kitchen when the rest of the team decided to watch a movie. This was so that he could get up at a moments notice if he felt things weren't right.

"So, you heard what happened to me," Brian said. "What happened to you?"

Mia finished drying the dish she was on and set it aside before she spoke, "same old I guess."

"I still want to hear about it," he said, encouragingly now. "Come on, spill."

"Nothing, honestly," she shrugged. "I still work at the diner and help out at the garage. As for life with the team… It's still as noisy, full of testosterone and parties as before. Only this time they don't really race."

"They don't?" He was a little shocked by that revelation.

"I'm not saying they've stopped forever, but they want to keep low and not attract attention," she explained. "I'm convinced they'll race again soon, they're having withdrawal symptoms."

"Yeah," Brian breathed out. "It seems weird them not racing."

"So you raced, huh?"

"Yeah, a little, I was out of work most of the time so I had to get money somehow, seemed like the logical way to go about it."

"You any good?" she questioned.

"Did you think I was bad before?"

"No, but you could have got you're cop friends to install all sorts of stuff into that car."

He just frowned at her, he knew it was going to take a lot longer than he first thought to get Mia to forgive him. It made him worry, Mia was the first to jump to his aid but she seemed hard to please, that meant that he'd have to try even harder with the rest of the team.

Brian just shrugged off the question and let Mia go on about how the guys still took part in legal races so it wasn't a total loss and they were always surrounded by cars so they didn't go mad. She then explained to him the living arrangements. Leon and Vince were in the basement, Mia had the second biggest room while Dom and Letty had the biggest room. That left Jesse with one of the small rooms but the one Brian would end up with was called the box room. She made sure to let him know that he was on a trial bases, first sign of trouble then he was out without argument. He reluctantly agreed.


	3. Chapter 3

A week passed and Brian was still with the team. Vince was still on edge with him but both Leon and Letty seemed OK with him being there. Jesse was the only one to be ecstatic where as Mia and Dom both seemed OK with him being there but at the same time still seemed angry with him.

Knowing he wouldn't be accepted back into the garage and also knowing that he wanted to make things up to Mia, Brian decided to help her out at the diner. He would spend many hours doing work there and when he wasn't he would work around the house or stay out of the way.

"Yo, pretty boy," Vince said as he came in. "Get me a beer."

Brian didn't respond, even if he did want to punch him. Instead he got the beer, opened it and handed it over.

"Play nice," Dom warned as he came in.

The rest of the team filed in and they all sat around. Basic conversation was given but generally the team was quiet for quite sometime. Brian was happy to see that it wasn't an awkward silent. The team was still stronger than ever, what he did back then hadn't seemed to break them apart. At the very least he was grateful for that.

"So how good were you at racing?" Jesse questioned.

"Best in Miami," he shrugged.

"Bullshit," Vince growled.

"Nope, hundred percent truth," Brain said. "I'm still probably not as good as Dom, but in Miami I'm the best."

Vince shot across the counter and pulled Brian over it. He threw a punch and hit him square in the face. This time round Brian snapped and fought back. He made sure not to throw too many punches at Vince but spent most of the time avoiding the attacks and defensively pushing Vince away.

The team stood amused, all but Jesse and Mia. They both watched anxiously as the fight went on. Eventually the fight was taken outside and everyone followed. Jesse and Mia both shouted for someone to break it up. No one listened but eventually Dom caught the expression on his sister's face and he edged off.

However, he didn't get a change to intervene before someone else did. The mystery man pulled Vince off of Brian then stood between them. He kept his back to Brian in a protective stance. He pushed against Vince as he tried to move forward.

"Back off!"

"Who the hell are you?" Vince demanded.

"I want to know that too," Dom said as he walked closer.

"Rome, come on man, it's cool," Brian said as he pulled Rome back.

"Your friend?" Mia asked as everyone looked confused. Brian nodded and Mia explained. "This is Brian's friend from Miami, the one he did that job with, they both own a garage."

Dom eyed him suspiciously then smiled. "You're brave for standing between Vince and his prey."

"Yeah well, I protect my own," Rome growled as he looked at Vince.

"Rome, man, leave it," Brian urged.

"Yeah, do what the buster says," Dom laughed. "And come inside, we'll get you a drink."

Rome was a little reluctant but he soon allowed Brian to pull him inside. They all sat around, even Vince who still looked pissed. Once everyone had a beer in their hands everyone seemed to relax. Mia even came round to help clean Brian up, Vince refused help.

"What were they fighting about anyway?" Rome asked.

"He was talking shit," Vince said simply.

"I wasn't," Brian mumbled. "I told him I was the best racer in Miami."

Rome laughed hysterically at the prospect of his friend being beaten for telling the truth. "He ain't talking shit, he really is the best in Miami. I couldn't believe it myself, but he is. Crazy as hell when it comes to driving too."

Dom spoke quickly before Vince could. "What do you mean crazy?"

"Well the night his Nissan got taken and he was brought in by police he raced. Tej, a friend from back in Miami, provided a little surprise. From what I heard he lifted the bridge to make a ramp and Brian over here went flying over it," Rome laughed. "I'd never do it. Then when we were on that job, Carter took his woman and put her on a boat. Well let's say Brian sped the car up and drove off a dock right into the back of the boat."

"He what?" Leon asked in shock.

Brian nodded awkwardly. "It's true. Except, she wasn't my woman. She was an undercover cop."

"Yeah, he got no action," Rome shrugged.

"So he is the best?" Dom asked.

"If you're who I think you are then I doubt he's better than you," Rome said. "But in Miami he is. Everyone knew they were gonna lose if he entered the race, the only person who didn't care was Suki."

"How are Suki and Tej?" Brian asked.

"They're good, man," he smiled. "Suki misses you like hell."

"Another one of your girls?" Mia asked as she leaned against the counter in front of Brian.

"Suki is just a friend," Brian sighed.

Rome took his side on this one. "Yeah, she and Tej have their own thing going, can't understand why. Although, they're not an official couple or anything."

Mia nodded but Brian couldn't ignore the jealous look she got. He smiled at the prospect that maybe he did have a chance with her. He smiled nervously at her but redirected his eyes before she could respond.

The rest of the time passed with little to no more problems. Rome got on well with the team, he and Leon even got into an eating competition after which Jesse told him all about the team's garage. This led to them all trading stories, even Vince stopped being angry and took part.

"Where are you staying?" Brian asked, speaking for the fist time in a while.

Rome shrugged. "I didn't exactly plan a head."

"I might know a place you can stay," Dom offered. Both Brian and Rome raised an eyebrow so he continued. "We have a friend called Hector, his place is huge but most of his friends moved out so he has a couple of rooms going. You should get on really well."

"And you're always welcome to hang out at ours whenever you want," Mia told him.

"Sounds like a plan," Rome said as he reached over the counter and grabbed a bag of nuts.

"I thought you weren't coming for another week or so?" Brian questioned.

"Well, from what I heard they all weren't happy with you, I figured the sooner the better," he shrugged. "Plus, I didn't hear from you."

"I've been busy," Brian explained. "I hope you didn't leave the garage without help."

"Don't worry, I got people to help," Rome assured him. "Tej even promised to help out when he had a free moment or two."

"Good, because I'm not losing my lively hood because your ass is too lazy," Brian laughed.

"Chill... Now when are you going to unleash the Bullet on these LA streets?"

"Bullet?" Mia questioned.

"His nickname, back in Miami, that's how fast he is."

"I think we should let him race," Leon said with amusement.

"I agree," Dom said casually. "One race without me in it and other with me in it. You up for it?"

"I know you'll kick my ass... So as long as the race without you is first then I'm down."

"Hell yeah!" Rome roared. "We are hitting it tonight. LA here we come!"

* * *

**Seen as it's been a while since I updated this story I stuck to a simple chapter. I promise the next one should be better and more interestings.**


	4. Chapter 4

Rome continued to get on well with the team, even with his big mouth he hadn't upset the them. _Well_, he had slightly. His big mouth seemed to run him into trouble no matter where he was. The team were reluctant to forgive him at first but soon came to recognise that it was part of who he was. This didn't excuse the fact that the team weren't always gentle with him.

They were all sat comfortably in the living room. Dom was on one of the sofa with Letty in the middle and Rome on the other end. Jesse sat crossed legged in the arm chair while Vince longued in the other. Leon, Brian and Mia all sat on the floor and Brian couldn't help but smile when he saw that she sat close to him.

"I'm going to get a drink," Letty declared.

Dom grunted before relucantly unwrapping his arms from around her. He kissed her softly on the cheek before he would allow her to get away. As she stood Rome grabbed her hand, she looked back, eyebrow raised. Brian noticed and shook his head. This would be fun.

"Hey, sweet cheeks," he grinned. "Fancy grabbing me one?"

Brian shook his head while the others looked on in amusement. He was counting down in his head to the moment when his oldest friend would get his ass kicked. Brian looked curiously over to see that Dom looked just as amused as the others. Dom was sure that Letty would handle it in a most entertaining way. She didn't dissapoint.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

But he had no time to respond. She freed her hand before darting forward. He hand reached out and grabbed his balls firmly. He look confused for a moment but then her grip tighten. Brian didn't have to look at the expression on Rome's face (in fact no one did) to see the pain she was causing him.

"N-N-Nothing," he blurted out, his eyed widened and he his voice croaked. "Sorry."

"You should put some ice on those," she grinned before heading off to the kitchen.

Rome readjusted himself gently before putting a near by pillow over his lap. Jesse was bright red but it was clear he found it funny. Both Vince and Leon weren't afraid to show how funny it was while Mia pretended to only notice the TV.

"Wouldn't have said she was that bold," Rome mumbled.

"Yeah, she's fiesty when she wants to be," Dom nodded. "But touch my woman again and I'll kill you, got it?"

"Now, now, Dominic," Letty cooed as she came through the door holding a beer. "You know better than to treat me like property."

He grabbed hold of her and pulled her onto his lap. "It's worth it if you punish me."

"I see why you like her," Rome commented as Letty kissed Dom lightly on the lips.

Neither of them noticed as Letty looked at Dom. "How about no sex for a week?" she teased.

Dom groaned in annoyance but it was Mia who spoke. "Guys, seriously, its bad enough I have to hear you guys going at it late at night but I don't need this too. The less I can get the better."

Brian patted her knee sympathetically but quickly withdrew his hand before she could react. He looked a head, concentrating on the TV. Suddenly she shuffled closer to him and let her head rest against his shoulder. He gulped as he tried his hardest not to move.

"You OK there, Buster?" she whispered.

"Sure," he nodded nervously.

"We need to start somewhere, Bri," she said, if anyone heard they acted oblivious.

"And somewhere is where exactly?"

"Me still feeling comfortable with you," she shrugged as she focused her attention back to the TV.

He couldn't help but smile at that. She was mad at him still, he could tell, but why wouldn't she be? He almost teared her family apart. If he hadn't come clean when he did then God knows what would have happened to them. At the very least she was comfortable with him. But in the end, what did that mean?

She was comfortable with him, suggestively like she was before the truth came out. What did that mean? She obviously wasn't comfortable enough to start things up again otherwise she would have, surely? It made his heart drop to thing that she'd turned that comfortableness into pure friendship. He shook his head, that was better than nothing.

* * *

A few days later things went South for Brian. Unfortuantely for him a known cop arrived at the garage looking for him. Without waiting for an explanation Vince raced round to the diner to confront the Buster on why a cop was sniffing around.

"You got something to tell us, O'Conner?" Vince growled as he entered.

Rome went round to stand protectively beside Brian as the rest of the team entered. Mia rolled her eyes but was ready to intervene if a fight erupted. They were not taking their shit out in here again.

"You're gonna have to give me a little something," Brian said calmly.

"There was a cop sniffing around the garage looking for you!"

"Fancy giving me his name?"

"Renner," Jesse whispered. "We didn't get a first name."

"Renner's a corrupt cop," Brian said, staring Vince down. "What did he want?"

"You," Vince said as if it were simple.

Brian rolled his eyes. "I figured that much."

"How do you know him, Brian?" Dom asked patiently.

"He's a cop, I _was_a cop."

"You still in touch with them?" The growl was unmistakeable from Dom.

"No," Brian said defensively. "But me not being a cop doesn't change the fact that I knew them."

"How corrupt is he?" Letty questioned.

"He's the kind of cop who drives by the races and pretends he doesn't see shit," Brian explained. "He's the cop who helps you put the stolen goods in the back of your car, he's the kind of cop who gets down and dirty with people involved in the case he's working on, he's the kind of cop who would do anything to get the job done."

"Is that why he wants you?" Dom asked.

Brian shrugged. "We won't know till he actually talks to me."

"Guy like that don't do it for a barrel of laughs," Leon commented. "What does he get out of it?"

"Varies," Brian exlained. "Sometimes it's money, other times it's a share of what they steal, you get the gist. It varies depending on what he's helping with."

"You won't help him Brian, will you?" Mia asked quitely from behind him.

He turned around and locked onto her. She looked so small and from the expression she held it was clear she was scared. Brian could only assmue that she was afraid he'd go back to his old ways once again.

"Of course not," he assured her. "I just want to know what he wants."

The team seemed unsure so Rome spoke up. "Look, if I was ya'll I'd have killed him back when he almost screwed things up for you guys. Hell he screwed things up for me once too but look at us now? We're partners and owning a garage, that's some crazy shit when you see how we were for a while. Since our job on Carter and being checked up on a couple of times he ain't been near a cop... Unless you count racing away from them."

"I believe that," Mia said simply. "And you should all believe it too."

"Hey girl, I don't give a shit," Letty said. "I'm not getting involved in his home coming. I have no problems with him being here."

"I like him," Jesse grinned. "So I'm down with believing it."

"I'm with Letty on this one, girl," Leon added.

Dom just shrugged, both Mia and Brian took that as a good sign. Where as Vince let out a low growl. He was making it perfectly clear that he would never truely accept or trust him. Brian just hoped that he could enough to leave him be.

After Renner showing up and the events that followed things were a little awkward at the diner. Dom had already closed the garage so he told everyone to stay here and relax as best they could. Throughout the next couple of hours or so Brian was almost subjected to Vince's rath on various occassions. Luckily, Mia saved him each time by talking, offering more beer or grabbing Vince's attention.

"Thanks," Brian smiled as everyone left and she started to lock up.

"For?"

Blunt, as always. "Earlier. Getting me out of shit with Vince for the last couple of hours."

"Someone has to keep him on a tight leash," she laughed.

He reached out and took her hand in his. She turned, studied their hands then looked questioningly at him. He felt her tense as he stepped forward but she soon relaxed. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before leaning down. He kissed her gently before being pushed away.

"Don't touch me," she snarled.

"Mia, I..."

"You what?" she asked angrily. "Go on, you what?"

"What did I do?" he asked pathetically.

"You made me feel sick," she said simply.

"I what?" His whole body rocked with shock.

"Touching me like that, it makes me feel sick but I feel worse because I want it," she mumbled. "The leaning against you, the hugs, the regular stuff I can handle. But nothing intimate."

"I don't understand," he mumbled in a defeated tone.

"You made me feel used, Brian," she accused. "You never loved me. I know you said you did, but how could you have?"

"Mia, I did," Brian said strongly. "Dom was the mark not you. I didn't have to go near you, hell, I didn't even have to acknoledge your exsistence. So why did I? Because I was drawn to you, I fell for you. Everything we did was real, Mia. The only reason I told you all the truth was because of you."

She looked up at him, he could tell she believed him or at least part of her did. It didn't seem to matter though, she closed her eyes tightly before taking a step further away from him.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm not sure I believe you."

He felt his heart tightened as she finsihed locking up and practically ran from him. His heart almost tightened to a dangerous limit when he saw her climb into Vince's car. He had completely forgotten she got a ride in and it seemd Vince was the only one still here. Vince stared Brian down, protectively making sure he kept his eyes off of Mia.

"What have I done?" Brian mumbled to himself as he kicked a nearby stone.


	5. Chapter 5

After what happened Brian decided to give Mia some space. He no longer did housework when she did, instead he made sure to do it whenever she didn't. When they were at the diner he would pick jobs to do that would allow him to be far away from her. It wasn't that he was avoiding her, because he wasn't. It was just that he would want to talk to her if he was too close to her. That couldn't happened, he needed to keep his distance for now.

However, things weren't so bad. He was happy to discover that Vince and Mia weren't back to dating. Not that that seemed to stop Vince. It was still clear to Brian and everyone else that Vince had a soft spot for her still. This surprisingly didn't bother Brian much, he was just happy that they weren't actually a couple.

Keeping his distance from her became hard and the thing that began to bug him was that he didn't know whether or not she was still angry. From the way she reacted he didn't want to risk upsetting her again. Still, staying away from her was hard when the team kept doing things together.

They were having a barbecue when Brian had to ignore his rule of staying away from her. While they were setting up Mia brought out some bowls of food. As she walked across the grass to the table she was balancing five bowls in her hands and along her arms. Only years of working as a waitress in the family diner could've given her that skill.

The amusing part was that she managed to set the bowls down but then as she turned away she tripped. She threw her arms out to try and break the fall. Brian raced over and managed to catch her before she hit the floor. He brought her up into a standing position and waited a few moment before letting go.

She whirled round to see who had saved her. She frowned as she noticed that it was Brian. He smiled unsurely at her, not knowing what to do.

"Thanks," she said simply before walking away from him.

He sighed in frustration as he sat down. He didn't say anything as the others sat around him and Vince helped Dom bring the meat over. Leon was elected to say grace before they tucked in.

"Start the party without me?" Rome shouted as he came into view.

"Well if you're sorry ass managed to get here on time then we wouldn't have to," Brian told him.

Rome sat down and piled a plate with food. "Just so long as you don't forget me when it comes to the real party."

"Yeah," Dom laughed. "We'll leave for the races around nine, by time things get sorted it'll be about ten and then we'll come back for the party after that."

"Who's racing tonight?"

"Me," Dom started. "Vince and O'Conner. As for other people, it'll depend when we get there."

"Why?" Leon asked. "You want in or something?"

Rome laughed as he finished off a piece of chicken. "I want to see how ya'll do it around here first."

-

A few hours later the team were ready and headed off to the races. At the meet up point Dom disappeared with Vince to find Hector so that they could sort out the races. Brian milked in the scene around him. He'd been around the racing scene constantly but this was different. This felt more natural to him than it ever did back in Miami.

It wasn't long later before everyone was making their way to the where the races were happening. When they arrived the team were told that there would only be three races. Dom, Vince, Edwin and a guy named Jones would be in the first race. Three people the team only knew by name would be in the the second race with Brian. And the third race would consist of Dom, Brian and two new faces.

The first race went by on pure predictions. Dom of course won, with Dom in close second, Jones third and Edwin fourth. The second race, however, caught some attention. No one had seen Brian around since the events a couple of years ago. They were all intrigued that he was around again but the team were more anxious to see how good he was.

Brian hopped into his car and checked his baby over before even considering starting the engine. He waited calmly, taking each step at a time while he waited for the count down to start. A young woman came out in front of the four cars and held a white cloth above her head. Brian revved his engine and sped off as soon as she dropped the cloth.

He raced in front but dropped to steady pace allowing the girl in the pink Mazda to pull a head soon followed by the guy in the Ford Mustang. Brian's steady speed kept in third in front of the other guy in a Chevrolet Camaro. Brian cruised a long till they were a little way in front before he put the pedal down.

As he passed the Mustang he stayed at a constant speed till it almost caught up again. He pushed the pedal harder and zoomed a head, coming side by side with the Mazda. She looked over at him and gave a confident wink before speeding a head. He hit the steering wheel, she wasn't supposed to get in front again.

Pulling himself together he floored it. He made another appropriate gear changed as he caught up with her again. Then it suddenly hit him. He gave her a confident look before hovering his thumbs over the two little red buttons that would ignite his supplied NOS.

As predicted she freaked and used both of hers. To stay on her tail Brian used one of his and as they rounded the corner and saw the finish line her NOS ran out. She slowed down and just before he reached her Brian used the last of his to get him speeding towards the finish line.

As he crossed it he did a hand brake turn in order to turn the car swiftly. He did it just in time to see the Mustang and Camaro catch up but it turned out the girl had already crossed. He grinned as he got out of the car and accept the money Hector handed him with pleasure.

"Alright O'Conner," Dom nodded."You are good."

"I told you," Brian shrugged.

"That's my boy!" Rome cheered as he pushed through the crowd.

"Don't get too too comfortable O'Conner, you're up again" Dom laughed as he walked away. "Hope you weren't fond of all that money."

"I suddenly don't feel envious of you anymore," Rome chuckled before running off to join the others.

-

To say the race went well would be a lie. Well actually, it had done. Brian stayed second the whole way. He didn't want to pull the same trick he had done in the first race so he went straight into it. He had settled for third for most of it. Before flooring it to gain second place. Luckily this race didn't include NOS as the other two drivers were younger and Dom and Brian secretly wanted to do this without a little added help.

In conclusion he almost passed Dom just before they hit the finish line, but of course the king won. Brian didn't act bitter, he just handed over the money with a knowing shrug. He knew he would lose, he told Dom the same thing, but he was annoyed at how close it had come.

After the race everyone made their way back to the party. Everyone went their separate ways. Soon the music was blaring, the drinks were out and people were mingling. Brian was grabbing his third beer from the fridge when he felt a hand on his back. He closed the fridge door before turning around.

"Nice work, Bullet," Mia smiled shyly.

He smiled. "Thanks. Although my winning didn't last long."

"Well it was Dom," she shrugged. "I don't think anyone will ever beat him."

"If anyone does," he laughed. "Then I hope I don't miss it."

"You and me both," she chuckled.

They stood there awkwardly for a while. At one point Brian offered her a beer but she shook her head. He slowly sipped his as she stood rooted to the spot in front of him.

"I'm glad you won."

"You're not the only one," Brian sighed.

"No," Mia shook her head. "Thanks for winning. It means I can trust you."

"What do you mean?"

"You told us you were the best street racer in Miami, unbeatable against everyone you'd come up against down there."

"And me winning tonight proves that?" he questioned.

She nodded. "Yes. And _how_ you drove. You could see the confidence and skills radiating off of you. It was clear that you really were one of the best."

"So I don't completely disgust you then?"

She blushed. "I guess I did overreact, but you can't blame me."

"I don't," he said honestly.

"Tell you what," she offered. "Seen as you told me the truth and proved it... How about we wipe the slate clean? How about we try to at least be friends? We'll work towards that. Take it a step at a time."

"So you're saying it'll be like when we first met?" he asked. "We'll have to work up to the friendship stage?"

"Yeah," she nodded before leaving. "Although it won't be as easy to get me into bed this time."


	6. Chapter 6

Brian sat contemplating what Mia had said. He knew he was going to be charming and work towards making her want to be friends with him. He wanted more than anything to at least be her friend, he would deal with his feelings for her at a later date. Maybe she would even return those feelings.

He sat quietly on the armchair as the party went on around him. He tried to ignore Vince and Leon who were of course entertaining some ladies. Jesse was sat quietly talking to a couple of girls and another guy in the corner. Brian smiled, Jesse always surprised him, one minute he could be nervous and the next he's talking away to random people. Letty and Dom were of course attached to each other, she scaring away any chasers than came near by. Rome was nowhere insight which meant he was off with some girl or in the kitchen getting food. Mia, he noticed, was dancing. On her own, not with anyone. He couldn't remember her like that. She'd gained more confidence, Brian was afraid it was because of what he did.

"Cheer up," Rome said as he sat down on a chair near Brian. His arms were holding a giant bowl of crisps.

"Other people are supposed to eat those too," Brian commented.

Rome chuckled. "Let 'em try."

"I feel sorry for anyone who does..."

"So why you sat here all alone?"

"Thinking."

"That's never good," Rome sighed.

"Mia wants to work towards friends."

"So, what?" Rome asked. "You're nothing now? Just acquaintances?"

Brian shrugged. "I guess, but trust me, I'll take what I can get."

"I don't know how you do it," Rome said with a shake of his head. "I would've taken the cop back in Miami."

"I wouldn't have stopped you."

"You know what I mean," Rome sighed. "Seriously. You could have been happy."

"I'd rather take Suki."

"There's nothing wrong with Suki," Rome defended. "Except, y'know, her taste in Tej."

"That's my point," Brian explained. "She'd never look away from Tej, not really. I'd rather choose her and risk a no interest response than choose Monica."

"Yeah, and the little fact that you're still hung up on your girl over there." He nodded over in the direction of Mia.

Brian ran his hand over the top of his head. "She's not my girl, in any way, that's the problem."

"You sound defeated," Rome laughed. "That's strange."

"How is it?" Brian asked curiously.

"You never go down easy, ever."

"This is different."

"Why? 'Cause you hurt her?"

Brian nodded. "I don't want to rush her, OK? I just... I get where she's coming from. _I_know that I wasn't lying about my feelings but I can't expect her to know that, can I?"

"So you're gonna prove it?"

"Well, I'm gonna work towards the friend thing," he explained. "Then I'll prove my feelings were genuine. Maybe as a friend she might believe me."

"Well if she don't soon enough then I'm hooking you up."

* * *

The next morning Brian woke up to find Mia tidying the house. He made no hesitation in picking up a black bag to help clear most of the rubbish out before mopping and cleaning everything in sight. He had continued to help around the house before Mia's shift at the diner and Brian had to go to the garage. He was going there on a trial bases from Dom who wanted to see how he worked with the others. Brian stayed but not wanting to cause problems he would disappear for a couple of hours in the middle of the shifts. No one minded because he went to see Mia and help her out.

"Is this a one off?" she asked as she sat down to let him serve.

He handed over the order and took the cash in return. "Don't see why not. Tension is still high at the garage, mostly from Vince... So coming here for a couple of hours is cool."

"But you gotta go back to that tension," she pointed out.

He shrugged. "Yeah, but still, the break is nice."

"You class this as a break?" she chuckled.

"I might be spending hours every single day of the week working with four other guys and a girl in a garage," Brian pointed out. "And that garage isn't exactly massive."

"Boys will be boys," Mia sighed. "That includes Let."

"You sure she won't kick your ass for that?"

"She'd see it as a compliment."

Brian chuckled to himself as he cleaned some crumbs off of the counter. He was pleased to hear that Letty hadn't changed much. He'd been glad to notice that about the team. Leon was still the same passive Leon, a complete secret while not actually being secretive. Jesse was still the same geeky erratic kid. Vince was the same hot headed coyote that he always was and Dom was still the over the top protector of the family. The only person who had really changed was Mia. It was just her new confidence and the air of possibility around her.

He continued to clean up some more inside the workspace as she watched him. He pretended not to notice so that he wouldn't seem false, like he was just doing this to impress her. Truth be told he partly was but his reasoning of wanting to get away from the garage was also true. He was just afraid she wouldn't believe the latter if she knew the first.

"Why now?" Mia asked suddenly.

"Huh?"

"Why did you come back now?" she asked. "Why not before?"

"Well things were a bit shitty for me after I left, things weren't good for me with the cops," Brian shrugged. "When all that went away I had money problems, I lived on a boat. And not a luxurious one either."

"Then the stuff happened? With you and Rome?"

Brian nodded. "Yeah, that was about a year ago. Actually less than that. I wanted to wait because I wanted to have something. That something was the garage."

"Would you have come back sooner if you could?"

"Not much sooner," he said honestly. "I knew I had to let you all breath. Especially you and Dom."

"Why are we so special?"

"I fell for you," Brian explained. "And he's your brother."

"I guess if I were you I would be scared as well," she smiled. "But you're still alive now so don't fret."

"Yeah, I'll try to remember that."

She smiled quietly up at him before hopping off her seat to serve a new customer. He leaned against the mop he had picked up in order to watch her. He let his eyes trail up and down her body. He couldn't help himself, he was only human and she was so familiar. He missed her.

She turned around suddenly after putting the money away. He tried to divert his eyes quickly which he managed but he also tried to look like he was doing something, which failed. He tried to look like he was mopping but the mop slipped from beneath him and he was no longer being held up. He slipped and fell backwards towards the ground.

"_Fuck_."

"You alright down there, Buster?" Mia asked as she stood in front of him. Her hands were on her hips and she was trying not to laugh.

"I slipped," he mumbled.

"Yeah," she chuckled. "I noticed."

He rolled his eyes and pushed himself up off the floor. He bent down briefly to pick the mop up and put it a safe distance away. "You called me Buster again, you never used it."

"I guess Vince rubbed off on me."

"Are you two...?"

"Does it matter?"

"That's not an answer," he pointed out.

"And it's none of your business."

"Mia," he mumbled. "I just want to know more about all of you."

"No... There's not."

"Then why were you so defensive?"

"Because he asked me," she whispered. "I erm, I was going to sleep with him. I'm not saying it was smart but he decided to tell me that if we did it it would have to be a serious relationship, not a one night stand."

"Vince?" Brian asked in disbelief.

Mia nodded. "I was shocked too."

"Why were you going to?"

She shrugged. "I was sick of feeling lonely and broken after you, but I wasn't ready for a stranger. I knew Vince... After he practically turned me down I worked even harder to getting over you."

"I am sorry, Mia," Brian sighed. "And I'm glad Vince turned you down."

"I could've said yes to his girlfriend proposal," she pointed out. "I only say he turned me down because he knew I wouldn't take that option."

"You'd never tell, you both seem close."

"We always have been," Mia shrugged. "He was one of my best friends, still is."

"You never told me the story of how you two got together," Brian said. "Or the break up one either."

"It was secretive, Dom got pissed and eventually it died down and we were happy," Mia said simply. "As for the break up, well at the very least, it was cleaner than ours."

Brian sighed as she went back to work. He knew she wasn't being mean when she said it. She hadn't sounded harsh or vicious, she was just being honest. He couldn't help but be sad at the fact that maybe he wasn't good for her, maybe she did deserve better. Now he wasn't saying that someone could be Vince but he was starting to see how horrible things must've been for Mia after the truth came out.

He still had that chance to work towards being friends, but he couldn't help but feel more lost than ever.


	7. Chapter 7

An entire week passed and Brian was barely making any progress. Mia and he still weren't friends but she was talking to him more. She even hugged him first sometimes. Granted, she only held on for few measly but he was going to take whatever he could get. The only thing that bothered him was how well Rome seemed to be getting on with the team. It was like he wasn't even trying.

Throughout the week Brian did more than try. He did extra hours at the garage and whenever he could he helped Mia out at work and at home. Jesse seemed the one person who had truly accepted him. The two of them constantly helped hung out, and it brought Leon and Brian a little closer too.

The only bad thing that had happened that week was that Renner showed up. That time he showed up with Tanner, Brian's old boss. Renner went through why they wanted Brian. They wanted him to go undercover as a racer to get a guy done for selling dodgy parts. Turns out they were stolen. Of course, Brian denied and sent them on their way.

"You nearly done?" Leon asked as he kicked Brian's foot gently.

Brian rolled out from under the car and looked up at Leon. "It's time to go already?"

"There'll be no one to race if we don't."

"It's Race Wars," Brian frowned. "Can you really run out of people to race?"

"You only went that one time," Leon chuckled. "But Racer's do stop racing at some point."

"It's only two," Brian muttered as he got up and wiped his hands on a rag.

"Yeah, yeah, O'Conner," Leon grinned as he left the garage. "Just hurry up."

It didn't take him long to finish up his car. His beautiful Skyline. It was probably the best thing he'd ever one a bought. It took him weeks and weeks to fix it after it got totalled the night he was arrested in Miami.

After he was done reminiscing he hopped inside and was on his way. He was sure to drive it nice and carefully. He wanted to get as much out of her at the races as possible.

* * *

Four races later and it was almost seven. He wanted to do more but he had promised to watch Jesse race a couple of times. After what happened with Tran last time Brian felt he needed to. He even watched Mia race.

"You gave up early," Rome chuckled as he joined Brian on the hood of his car.

"I watched a few," Brian shrugged. "And it became hard to find someone willing to raid."

"Well seen as you won all four races with a landslide I'm not surprised."

"You didn't do too bad yourself."

"Shame we couldn't double up," Rome sighed.

"Yeah," Brian smiled. "That time was fun."

"What was fun?"

Both Rome and Brian looked over to see Mia approaching. Brian almost groaned when he took in her appearance. Earlier she had been wearing denim shorts, a shirt and converse. Now she had gotten rid of the shirt so that she was wearing a vest top that didn't quite reach the waist band of her shorts.

"You know," Rome grinned. "That food is calling me again."

He hopped off the car and smirked at Brian's pained expression. He only smiled as Mia came to sit where Rome had previously been. She drew her knees up and rested her chin on top of them.

"You get too hot or something?" he asked.

She nodded. "I was dancing with Leon, it got a little warm so I took my shirt off."

"You look good." He gave her a small smile to show he wasn't up to anything.

"Security people are complaining about the noise," she explained. "Dom is having the regulars and some new people come back to ours."

"Oh," he nodded. "Sounds cool."

"Yeah," she shrugged. "Just thought I'd warn ya."

"It seems you've danced with everyone tonight," Brian started. "Can I have a dance at yours?"

She smiled as she hopped off the car. "If you're a good boy."

He watched her intently as she walked away. She really was amazing to him. She was the exact same Mia but it was like she had been upgraded. She was tougher, seemed to take less bullshit. This new independent, tough side just made him want her more.

As he saw the rest of the team slip into their cars and drive away he got into his. He noticed that Rome waited for him to pass. Once he had Rome tailed him. They both got back to the fort at the same time. The team already ahead and getting ready for their guests.

Rome and Brian were barely through the door when people started to show up. Rome just shrugged and headed straight for the kitchen, leaving Brian on his own.

"You lost?"

"Nope, just staying out of trouble," Brian smiled as he turned around.

"Why's that?" Mia smiled.

"Well a pretty girl said I could have a dance if I was a good boy."

She walked over to him and took his hand in hers. "Looks like you did a good job."

He let her drag him to the middle of the living room. There were already people dancing so it made Brian feel more comfortable. He hesitantly put his hands on her hips and they started to dance. She stayed close to him but she was in no way as close as the other girls were with their dance partners.

After a couple of dances a more mellow down song came on. At this one she pushed him away slightly. He frowned as she escaped to the kitchen. He followed her through and out the back door. He watched as she went over to the far corner where the team had made a permanent seating area.

"Mia," he said cautiously.

"Sorry," she smiled. "Honestly, I am. I just don't wanna dance like that with you."

"Like what?"

"All close and hanging on to each for dear life."

"I don't get you," he sighed. "I've done nothing but try to make it up to you since I got back, and you can't even stand to be beside me for more than a few minutes at a time. And touching me, god, that only lasts a few seconds. I'm surprised you let my hands stay on your hips as long as you did."

"What do you want from me?" she hissed.

"To be straight with me! If you don't want me here then fine I'm gone. I'll go, but be fucking honest with me."

"So, what? You're gonna walk out?"

"I'll keep in touch, hell, I'll visit all the time," he sighed. "But I am not about to stick around here just so you can all make me feel like I don't fit in. Jesse is the only person treating me the exact same way he used to, Leon's just about getting there and Letty was always passive. Hell, I might even give Vince a damn brake but you and that brother of yours, you make it seem like I've proved something then you throw me to the pavement."

"Well maybe you should go then," she whispered as she looked away.

"Fine, maybe I will."

He went to leave but she spoke. "No, I didn't mean that."

"This is exactly what I mean, Mia," he mumbled. "You keep changing your damn mind! For example, if you don't like me touching you then fine, but don't suddenly decide you are OK with it then change your mind again."

"I have the right to change my mind."

"Your playing with people's feelings," he shouted. "Believe it or not I'm head over heels for you. The whole team sees it only they're too afraid to say it! So why can't you? What the hell do I have to do?"

Before he had time to think she was kissing him. He went wide eyed but they soon slowly closed. He wrapped his arms around her waist as hers wrapped around his neck. He lifted her up and walked her over to one of the chairs. He sat down so that she was straddling him.

He was just getting into it when she pulled away. He rested back into the chair as she leaned back to look at him properly.

"I can't," she whispered.

"This is what I'm talking about," Brian muttered. "Look, I'm just going to go."

"No!" she said urgently. She put her hands on either side of his face. "Listen to me. The kiss was good. I could tell, I could _feel_, that you meant it. But I don't know if I'm ready to go back there, OK? I promise, I'm going to be straight with you."

"I still think I should go."

"Please, look, maybe I was a bit harsh."

"Mia," he chuckled. "I'm not saying I don't believe you. I'll always believe you. But I need to go check on things back in Miami anyway. I'll go and you can really think about what you want, OK?"

She pouted which made Brian feel hopeful again. "Don't stay away for too long."

He nodded. "I'm gonna go to a hotel. I need some rest and this party isn't about to end. I'll be back in the morning to pack up my things."

She nodded as she got off of him. "Don't leave without saying goodbye."

He wanted to kick himself for giving her another chance but it all came back to the last time he was in LA. He really had hurt her so he would go through the ringer to sort things out, no matter what the end result might be.

He slowly got up from the chair and walked around to the front of the house. He groaned when he saw his car was blocked in. He rolled his eyes and not wanting to go back inside he walked a little down the road. He was just about to call a taxi when he heard someone behind him.

As Brian turned he was hit square in the face. He fell backwards, cupping his face. He went to look up at his assailant but he was kicked in the chest and stomach, causing him to curl up. After a while the kicking stopped and Brian was able to sit up some. He was aching all over and it didn't stop. Before he knew it something hard hit his shoulder then the back of his head. He saw the outline of his attacker walk away as he collapsed onto the floor and everything went black.

* * *

**Hey, I spell checked and that but I didn't really read through it so sorry if it's not amazing...**


	8. Chapter 8

"Hey," Mia whispered as Brian came to.

He opened his eyes slowly, waiting for them to adjust. Once they did he took in the sight of the hospital room he was in. it was bright white and amazingly clean.

"Heh yeh," he mumbled.

Mia tried not to stifle her giggles. "Give it a minute before you try to speak."

"Yeah, you were all drugged up," Leon chuckled.

Brian attempted to sit up with the help of Leon and Mia. As his vision completely cleared he saw that Mia was on one side of his bed, Leon was on the other and Jesse was sat at the end. Both Dom and Letty were on the couch while Rome sat on the arm of it. Vince seemed the furthest away, he was leaning gently against the wall.

"Why do I feel like I got hit by a train?" he groaned.

Mia brushed his hair back with her fingers. "You were beaten."

"Yeah, badly," Jesse whispered.

"You look like hell," Letty pointed out.

Brian winced as he tried to shift a little. "How bad is it?"

"Broken ribs," Rome muttered. "Fractured ribs too. Broken shoulder bone and a whole bunch of bruises."

"Why does my head hurt?"

"You were hit, pretty hard," Rome explained. "You had all the scans and that, they came up clear but you're gonna have one hell of a headache."

"And what did the doctors do?"

Mia smiled down at him. "They took you into surgery to sort your ribs out."

"So no partying or racing for you," Leon grinned.

"Look, Brian," Dom sighed. "I know some of us have given you hard time but I swear known of us knew. But we are going to find out."

"Don't bother," Brian sighed.

"No, someone would've have seen something," Dom said. "We'll sort it all out once we're sure you're OK."

Suddenly Vince was leaving. He didn't say anything as he pushed away from the wall and left the room. Everyone just watched the door long after it closed.

"Old coyote really doesn't like you," Leon muttered.

"Would be weird if he did," Brian said as he looked around the room.

"Doesn't look like you care either," Mia giggled.

"Sorry," he whispered. "I'm just surprisingly hungry and normally hospitals are full of jell-o."

"I need to pee," Letty laughed. "So I'll try and get you some on the way back."

Brian smiled happily to himself. "I always liked hospitals."

Letty rolled her eyes as she left. Brian say back patiently, hoping that she could find some. As they waited Mia sat down on the end of the bed, on the side that Jesse wasn't occupying. Leon sat down on the chair behind him and Dom stretched out.

When Letty did arrive back she wasn't alone. A small, plump nurse followed her in. But Brian was delighted to see that she had a lot of jell-o in her hand.

He stretched for it eagerly but the nurse swatted his hand away.

"Not yet, dear," she chucked. "Let me give you the once over seen as you're awake properly now."

"I woke before?"

She nodded as she listened to his heart. As she smiled at the result she pulled away. "You were in and out when you got here then you woke briefly after the surgery."

"I don't remember that," he mumbled.

"Don't worry about it," she smiled. "Your head was all over the place when you came in and after the surgery you were on pain medication."

He nodded. "So, am I clear to eat?"

She chuckled softy. "Yes, dear. But you should really eat some proper food."

"Oh, I will," he smiled as he reached for the jell-o.

He peeled back the lid slowly to reveal a bright red substance. He licked his lips as he put the lid aside. He dug in quickly and was finished three mouthfuls later.

"You say I'm bad," Rome laughed.

"I just had surgery," he smiled. "I can get away with it."

They all looked at each other. Each of them with a worried look on their faces.

"Guys..." Brian said uneasily.

"Bri," Mia whispered. "You've been out for a few days."

"Yeah, bud," Leon sighed. "It's Wednesday."

"No, it's Sunday," Brian shook his head.

"No, it's not," Mia smiled softly.

"That's why you had all the possible tests," Jesse signed. "They were worried when you didn't wake up straight away, they wanted to make sure they didn't miss anything."

"Oh," Brian nodded. "It's just weird to think I slept through so much."

"You didn't miss much," Rome assured him.

"He really did hit me hard then."

"She," Letty interrupted. "It could have been a she."

"Yeah," Brian agreed. "But I wanna get better before I feel like an ass for getting beaten by a girl."

"Don't worry," Letty smirked. "We won't remind you too much."

They all started to laugh at that. Even Brian but he had to stop because it hurt his ribs too much.

"You all sound like you're having fun," Vince muttered as he entered the room.

"Yeah, we were discussing how Buster might have been beaten up by a girl," Dom smiled.

"Yeah, a girl."

"You don't sound convinced," Brian pointed out.

Vince shrugged. "Just seems unlikely."

"What do you know?"

"Hey," Dom said as he stood up. "That's not fair. He doesn't know anything."

"He hasn't made one sarcastic comment since I woke up," Brian pointed out. "Something is bothering him."

"What's bothering you, V?" Dom asked as he stepped closer to his friend.

"What did you do, man?" Letty asked.

"I've hit people harder and they always got right back up again," Vince mumbled.

"What the hell did you do all this for?" Leon asked as he advanced towards Vince.

"Look, some guy said he saw two people together in the garden," Vince explained. "He said one was that blonde we hang out with and the other was the King's baby sister."

"What's wrong with that?" Jesse asked.

"They were together," Vince repeated, putting emphasis on the word 'together.'

It took Jesse a moment but he started to realise. "Oh, ew, out in the open? Seriously?"

Dom advanced towards Brian. "Start talking!"

Mia stood up swiftly, and put a hand softly but firmly against Dom's chest. "We kissed and I pushed him away after a while. We're going to try harder to be friends. Nothing more happened."

"It's true," Brian agreed. "I was beyond disappointed that she ended the kiss but that was all that happened."

"Who told you?" Dom asked Vince, calming down.

"Some kid," Vince shrugged. "I didn't recognise him."

Everyone seemed to ignore Vince after that. After Rome's mind caught up he had launched at him. But Dom managed to separate them, he was angry at Vince but he couldn't deny that he was only looking out for Mia.

After some time it got so tense that arguments played out. Eventually the kind nurse from before came in. She told them it was time to leave.

They all (with the exception of Vince) reluctantly said their goodbyes. Brian smiled sadly as they all filed out. His face only lit up completely when Mia kissed him on the cheek before leaving.

He settled back into the wall of pillows behind him. But not long after the others had left someone else stepped into the room.

"Renner?" Brian asked.

"The one and only." Renner leaned on the small table at the end of the bed.

"What do you want?"

"To renegotiate," he explained. "Now, you probably remember. There's a guy selling stolen parts to street racers. I want you to undercover and bring him down."

"The answer is still no," Brian said sternly.

"You'll help me out," Renner said confidently.

"What makes you so sure?"

"It was easy enough to get Vince to turn agains you, shouldn't be too hard to convince the others to turn against you," Renner smirked. "I'll leave you to think about it, but your answer will be yes."

Brian watched in shock as Renner left. So he must have told someone to tell Vince. If he had done it then Vince would've remembered him. But why was Renner so intent on making him do a job? None of the cops hadn't wanted anything to do with him after LA. It was a miracle he was used in Miami by the Feds.

He sat back, contemplating what had happened. He need to know why Renner was so hell bound. He would entrust what he had discovered with Jesse so that he could do some research. He would then tell the others


	9. Chapter 9

"Hey, I got that infor-"

"I swear to God, Jesse, shut up," Brian hissed.

They both looked over at the team as they started to retreat. Each of them smiled and waved but Dom gave them a suspicious look before leaving. However, once he finally did Jesse let out a deep breath.

"Did they ask why you're staying?" Brian asked.

"I just said at least one of us should stay with you," he shrugged. "I volunteered to go first."

Brian nodded. "So what did you find out?"

"Well Renner was just as bad as you said, but..."

"Spit it out, Jess."

"The mark is non-existent."

"What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said," Jesse sighed. "I couldn't find any reports about it. Renner lied."

Brian shook his head in confusion. "But why?"

"My guess is to set you up."

Brian bit his lip. "What the hell was he planning?"

* * *

The team came back to visit Brian the next day, they came every day but this time was different. He was afraid that Jesse might have said something to the rest of the team. But they came in looking normal and Brian knew he was safe.

Rome and Leon both grabbed the fruit bowl and started to eat. Jesse sat on the end of the bed while Mia stood by Brian's head. Vince took the chair while Letty and Dom sat on the couch.

"You still look like hell," Rome said as he ate a grape.

"Thanks, man," Brian muttered.

"Don't listen to him," Mia said as she gave Rome a stern look.

He just grinned as he ate another grape. She rolled her eyes and ran her fingers through Brian's hair like she always did. Brian just smiled up at her.

This was more like it. He felt like he belonged again, it only sucked that he had to get beaten up for it to happen.

But all his new found happiness was ruined when Tanner walked into the room. Rome, Leon and Dom were instantly on their feet. Vince didn't move but he eyed Tanner warily.

"Leave," Rome growled.

"You OK, O'Conner?" Tanner asked.

Brian ignored his question, he only felt anger. "Did you know about Renner?"

"Know what?" But he backed away towards the door.

"What's going on?" Mia asked quietly.

"Renner was planning to set Brian up," Jesse whispered.

"I'm sorry Brian," Tanner sighed. "I knew something wasn't right but I didn't think that was it."

"Get the fuck out," Dom hissed.

Tanner shook his head sadly. "He won't stop." but he was gone before the team could say anything.

"Please," Vince sighed with desperation. "Tell me we have a plan."

* * *

"No, no, no," Mia said as she paced the hospital room. "He's coming home today and you are not doing that stupid idea of yours."

"Mia, come on," Dom begged. "It needs to be done."

"I say you wait till I'm better and I'll do it," Brian piped up.

Mia glared at him. "No way in hell. Do you want go back to not being friends?"

It had been almost a week since Tanner's visit and Brian had been allowed to go home as long as he rested. Within the same week he had gained a friend in Mia and now he was working towards something more. He wasn't about to go backwards.

"Fine," Brian sighed.

"But we're still doing this," Dom said.

"Yeah, it's going to be kickass!" Vince said happily.

Mia sighed in defeat and sat on the bed next to Brian. "Talk me through the plan."

"Jesse found out that Renner goes to the same bar every Thursday," Dom started. "So, Vince, Letty, Leon and I are going to go and find him."

"I'm not going because I want to make sure Brian stays at home," Rome explained.

Mia nodded as Vince said, "when we find him we'll start a fight."

"That's when Dom will stop us all and suggest we race," Leon said. "Only Renner will win the race."

"But what'll that do?" Mia frowned.

"All in good time, little sis," Dom smirked. "I want to be able to tell you all about it when we get back."

Mia rolled her eyes. It was typical of her brother to keep things quiet but she hated it when she wasn't completely sure of what he was doing. Brian knew this so he smiled sadly at her as he patted her leg.

* * *

"Where are they?" Brian demanded as he tried to get up again.

Mia pushed his shoulders gently so be would lay back. "I told you not to move."

"I'd listen to her," Jesse smiled widely.

"They'll be back, don't worry, man," Rome sighed as he flicked through the TV.

It was just at that moment when the others walked through the front door. Each of them had huge grins on their faces and were all incredibly giddy.

"Spill," Brian said they settled down.

"Well..." Dom started.

_*Flashback...*_

_Dom, Vince and Leon all entered the bar where they knew Renner was. They walked straight up to where he sat. Leon tapped him on the shoulder and when he turned around Leon punched him. As Renner responded Vince jumped in to help. Dom just smirked then after a couple of minutes he shouted for them to stop._

_"How about we race?" Dom asked._

_That caught Renner's attention. "What's at stake?"_

_"I win you leave Brian alone," Dom explained. "You win then Brian does that job you wanted him to do."_

_He thought about it for a moment before nodding. "You got yourself a deal."_

_They sorted out a time and place in private before Dom joined Leon and Vince. They left as quickly as possible._

_"You do it?" Dom asked Letty as they got outside and met her._

_She nodded with a big grin on her face. They all got into the cars and drove to where they were supposed to meet Renner a half hour later. They parked down a dark side street, waiting._

_They had brought two cars. One was the car Dom would race and the other had Leon, Vince and Letty. Leon was there to check scanners and to keep the radio working between them and Dom. Letty was there because she was too stubborn not to be and Vince was there if Dom happened to need him._

_"Think he'll come alone?" Leon asked over the radio._

_Dom sighed. "We better fucking hope so."_

_"I think he has," Letty said in disbelief. "There's our boy."_

_Dom looked a head and spotted him driving into position. Dom started his car and drove out of the side street. He turned left and stopped just before the traffic lights next to Renner._

_"On green," Dom shouted once he had lowered his window._

_"Where's the finish line?" Renner asked._

_"See how the road can only go right at the end?" Renner nodded. "Take that right and you'll see it."_

_Renner nodded. "Let's go."_

_Dom smirked as he closed his window. He started his car up and revved the engine when the light went to amber. As soon as it went to green the two cars shot forward. _

_Of course Dom pulled a head but he didn't go as fast as he could have done. He kept at a steady pace and soon Renner caught up. Half way down the road Dom glanced over at Renner, giving him his best "oh shit" look." As expected Renner smirked and shot a head. Dom stayed on his tail but then slowed so Renner was at least four to five car lengths a head. Dom watched as Renner got close to the end of the road before he took the last turning on the left. _

_As he emerged from the end of the side street the others showed up. Leon gave him a nod as Dom shot out in front of him. They drove to till they reached an abandoned car park which overlooked the road they had been racing on._

_"This is the best bit," Vince said as he got out and sat on the hood of the car._

_The others got out too and they all looked over. Renner had indeed turned right and took the corner but it wasn't a finish line that met him. It was a mass group of cops. Some stood holding guns and others in their cars, ready to chase him if he attempted to flee. But probably feeling smug he got out and raised his hands._

_"Nah," Leon chuckled. "This is the best bit."_

_One of the cops went over to Renner's trunk and popped the hood. _

_"What did you put in there, girl?" Leon asked as the cops instantly handcuffed Renner._

_"Stolen car parts," she smiled. "I say stolen, I borrowed them from Harry."_

_Vince smirked. "We're lucky he brought that car."_

_Dom laughed at his team as he watched Renner being put into the back of a cop car. One of the cops, Tanner, looked up in the direction of Dom who nodded. They had convinced Tanner to help, not that he had a choice._

_Dom turned to see his team beaming. He rolled his eyes and ordered for them to get back into their cars._

_*End flashback...*_

"So you got him?" Mia asked.

Dom hugged her. "Shocked?"

"Admittedly," she nodded.

"Well we won't know for sure if it did any good for a while," Letty sighed. "But all in time."


	10. Chapter 10

Rome walked passed Brian as quickly as possible who was lying down on the couch. At this Brian sat up and tried to lean to the side to see Rome in the kitchen. It didn't last long because when he saw Mia's stern look he shifted back onto the couch properly and grinned innocently.

He was honestly much better now but she wasn't going to listen. He couldn't deny it though he loved how she nursed over him. But that didn't stop him from attempting to look again when she turned away.

"Brian, I swear to God, lie down!"

He frowned. "But…"

"No, lie back."

He rolled his eyes and shifted once again. "But Rome is keeping something from me."

"What makes you say that?"

"He won't look at me and he always runs past me so I can't stop him."

She sighed. "Rome!"

He came back in but refused to look at Brian. "What?"

"Brian thinks you're keeping something from him."

Rome narrowed his eyes at him. "You're such a girl."

He grinned. "Told you."

Rome rubbed the back of his head. "Suki and Tej closed up the garage for a couple of days. Now before you go off on one, it's my garage too and I said they could close it for a couple of days."

Brian nodded. "They work hard, it seems fair.

"And erm," Rome said awkwardly. "They're sort of coming to visit. See how ya doin' and stuff."

Brian groaned. "Maybe I should think about moving upstairs, that way I can lock the bedroom door."

"I thought you would want your friends to visit," Mia said, shaking her head. "But it doesn't matter. You're staying down here. You've got the toilet, the kitchen and if the couch is too uncomfortable we'll sort something out."

"I need to shower at some point, Mia," Brian pointed out. "I know I had one a couple of days ago before I came home from the hospital but that's not the point."

She bit her lip. "Oh alright. Give me a minute and I'll help you up."

"Mia, I got it. I'm only going up the stairs," he sighed.

"I got him," Rome chuckled.

* * *

Brian lay back in the bath. He had been denied a shower by Mia because she didn't want him to be on his feet for too long. He sighed, it was more relaxing but he definitely preferred showers. When he was almost completely relaxed the bathroom door opened up.

He flew forward to try to cover himself. Water splashed over the side and he winced in pain from moving too quickly. As he gasped at the pain he looked around to see Mia.

"Look what you did," she said as she came over to him.

"Can you blame me?"

"I've seen it all before," she giggled.

"Giggling does not help me here," he said as his face turned bright red. "And it was different before."

"Look, raise your arms up as if you're about to wash your hair," she told him. "I'll look away if it makes you feel better."

He waited till she closed her eyes then slowly raised his hands. He was barely near his head when the pain started. He hissed then lowered his hands again. She opened her eyes and smirked at him. His hands shot further down to cover himself.

"So I could wash your hair or I could Letty or I could even get one of the guys."

"I'd rather have you," he muttered.

She smiled triumphantly and walked closer to him. She wet his hair with the small jug then sat on the side of the bath as she washed the shampoo into his head. After a while he relaxed and closed his eyes. He couldn't even remember why he had been so embarrassed, it seemed silly now.

He almost frowned when she stopped but he tried to hide it. She smiled to herself as she stood up and tilted his head back. She poured the water over his head until all the soup was washed out.

As she dried her hands on a towel he said, "fancy helping me out and drying me off?" Suddenly he felt more confident about being naked in front of her again.

"Not in the way you're thinking O'Conner," she said, trying not to smile.

"Aw, I'll keep it as close to PG as I can."

She rolled her eyes. "I'll wait outside in case you need to me."

He actually did frown this time round, but nonetheless he managed to get out of the bath. He sat on the floor with the towel around his waist while he waited for the pain to subside. Once it had he dried off slowly then slipped on a pair of boxers, baggy shorts and an over-sized jumper.

He slowly stood up and walked over to the door. When he opened it he saw Mia leaning against the wall. She grinned at him and he couldn't help but smile back.

* * *

"Brian!" Suki called as she ran into the house.

She didn't seem to care that it wasn't her house or that she hadn't met majority of the people who lived there. She ran over to Brian who was back to lying on the couch. He scrunched his face up and leaned back as she threw her arms around him.

"How you doin', girl?" he asked as she pulled away.

She plopped down on the floor next to the couch. "I'm doin' good, you don't look so hot though."

"I did look worse than this," he smiled.

"Where is she?" Tej asked as he came through to the living room.

"With Brian of course," Rome chuckled as they shook hands.

"You know what she did?" Tej asked.

Brian raised an eyebrow at Suki. "Surprise me."

"Practically jumepd from the car before I stopped," he muttered. "I'd barely slowed down, we were at least four houses away and she just opened her door and ran out."

"He's exaggerating," Suki whispered before sticking her tongue out at Tej.

At that moment the team came in. Mia was the only one wearing a smile as she handed Brian his sandwich then sat by his feet.

"Uh guys, this is Tej and Suki," Brian explained.

"Hey," Suki said before stealing a bite of Brian's sandwich.

"Sup," Tej said with a nod of his head.

"Oh," Dom said as he stepped forward a little. "I'm Dom."

"Ah, so this is Dom," Tej breathed. "I understand why you were so afraid of getting your ass kicked by him."

Dom chuckled. "The one on the couch with Brian is my little sister Mia, one of the reasons why he might have gotten his ass kicked. This is Letty." He wrapped his arm around her waist as she moved beside him. She smirked and nodded to the new comers. "The smaller one is Jesse, the scruffy one is Vince and that's Leon."

"Heard all about you," Tej nodded. "It's nice to meet ya'll."

"I agree," Suki said as she stole more of the sandwich.

"Quit it," Brian muttered as he held the rest of it away from her.

"Does he bully you two as much as he does me?" Suki asked Mia and Letty.

"I'd like to see him try," Letty grinned as Mia nodded in agreement.

Dom rolled his eyes. "Where you two staying?"

"Hotel not too far from here," Tej explained.

"There's not much room but we could double up if you wanna sleep here."

Suki pouted. "I was looking forward to building up a room service bill for Tej."

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered. "I'll make you pay for all of it."

"And you lot thought I got off easy going to Miami," Brian muttered but then smiled to himself as Tej and Suki bickered about where to stay.


	11. Chapter 11

"What are you drawin'?" Brian asked as he came to sit next to Suki.

They were all out in the garden having a barbecue seen as Tej and Suki were over. The best part of it for Brian was that he was allowed to get up and walk around because Mia didn't want to ruin the little time he had with Tej and Suki while they were visiting.

She titled the pad slightly. "Designs of course."

He chuckled. "Should've guessed."

"So, who you piss off this time?"

Brian nodded towards Vince. "Although someone lied to him so he would do it."

"I made a bad move," Vince muttered. "And it's not my fault he's made out of glass or something."

"Who lied to him?" Suki asked, not looking up from the drawing.

"I'm guessing the cop who tried to set me up," Brian shrugged. "At least he got someone to do it for him."

Suki looked out of the corner of her eye but then went back to drawing. "Set up?" Tej asked, looking around at them all.

Letty went straight into explaining to Tej about the whole thing. Suki would look up every so often but her primary focus was on her drawing. Brian smiled at that. She was way too relaxed all the time. Nothing phased her, ever. He wished everyone in the world could be as laid back as her.

"So you didn't invite us to this one either?" Suki asked, obviously talking about the job to get rid of Renner.

"What you talking about?" Rome asked, confused. "We let you in on the whole Carter thing."

"And we got searched for it," Tej reminded him.

"Doesn't stop the fact that you were still involved," Rome grinned as he threw a sweet at Tej.

"They haven't grown up much have they," Suki whispered.

"I was just about to ask if they were always like this," Mia said as she sat in the chair on the other side of Brian.

Brian closed his eyes and put his head back. "Yeah, always."

"You OK?"

He nodded. "A little sleepy after those painkillers you gave me."

She patted his arm. "I didn't want you to be in pain."

"OK, I might not have gotten back up after the beaten," Brian mumbled. "But I'm not made of glass like Vince said."

"Sorry..."

He opened an eye to look at her. "You've changed your tune with me."

She shrugged. "I erm... I didn't handle hearing about what had happened to you too well... It scared the hell out of me and I just had to see if you were OK. It made me realise that there was something still there."

"How much of a something?" he asked with an innocent smile.

"Not as much as you're hoping for," Mia said sadly. "But don't leave again, OK?"

"Mia," he sighed. "I didn't want to leave the first time."

"I know," she nodded. "But no matter what they say or do, please stay."

"OK, but if I do go back to Miami, which will probably happen... I promise I'll come back."

She smiled as she curled up on the chair. "Good, even though we haven't exactly been the best of friends since you got here it's been nice to have you around again."

* * *

"Brian," Mia whispered.

He opened his eyes and stretched. It hurt a little but it made him feel surprisingly better as well. "What?"

"You fell asleep, but foods all done so I woke you up to eat."

"Was that it?"

She chuckled lightly. "Yes, come on sit up."

He sat up to realise he was lying on a beach towel near the edge of the garden. He stood up and stretched a little more before wondering over to where the others were. His chosen seat was between Mia and Tej.

As he sat down Tej leaned over slightly and whispered, "What I said back in Miami, I didn't mean it. I wouldn't have helped with the garage if I did."

"You had a point though."

"What are you two whispering about?" Leon asked with interest.

"I told him that Suki and I helped him out a hell of lot when he came back to Miami but as soon as Rome came back and he did that job, we didn't seem to matter anymore."

"It never bothered me," Suki said.

"Hey man, I did nothing wrong," Rome muttered.

"Well it doesn't matter anymore," Tej mumbled. "So leave it out."

Rome suddenly laughed. "Is this the real reason you didn't want them to come to LA?"

Suki hit Tej's arm. "You almost lost me a chance to visit LA because you were being sulky?"

"I offered to take you anywhere you wanted," he defended.

"They always like this?" Mia whispered.

Brian nodded, a smile on his face. "Definitely."

Mia chuckled as Jesse was picked on to say grace. They all grinned as he got through it with the help of Leon. Once he had finished everyone lurched forward and grabbed at the food. By time they'd all grabbed what they needed the big bowls of food in the middle were looking much emptier.

"Hey," Tej suddenly said. "I just realised, after we helped you two with Carter you never paid us back."

Brian rolled his eyes. "I'll buy all the rounds next time we go out."

"Better yet," Dom smiled. "Why not a party tonight?"

"Oh, a party!" Suki said excitedly.

"You can put one together that fast?" Tej asked.

"Helps that he's the King of the streets," Brian whispered.

Tej shrugged. "In that case I'm down for a party."

Brian grinned but then stopped when he saw Mia watching him. "What?"

"Bed rest, remember?"

"Apart from that nap I lasted all day today," he sighed. "And that nap should only help with me getting through the party."

"You would think they were married already," Leon muttered.

Mia threw him a look before softening. "Promise me you'll go lie down if you don't feel good?"

"If you take me there," Brian smiled but then look away hastily when Dom shot him a warning look.

* * *

Brian watched as Mia danced with Leon. The party had started around two hours ago and since then she was either getting a drink, talking or dancing. It meant that he never had the chance to ask her to dance like he wanted to. He tried once and she said in a while, when a slower song came on. He figured it was because she didn't want thim moving around too much. It seemed she never listened when he said he was feeling much better.

Letty had said that she was happy looking after him that she didn't want to stop. It ws also probably the fact that she didn't want Brian to leave again or she was worried he would get taken away. He shook his head at that, he would never leave her now.

He gave up and went over to where they were dancing. "Can I cut in?"

Leon debated for a moment but then nodded. "Sure, go ahead."

Brian stepped pass him and pulled Mia to him before she could say anything. He put his hands on her hips and started to dance. At first he moved like he didn't have a clue what he was doing, causing her to smile. She relaxed after that, moving with him.

"Glad I didn't sit around all night like you told me to?"

She tried not to smile. "Maybe."

"Remind me to thank Vince."

She slowed her a movements and looked at him in shock. "And why would I do that?"

"If he didn't beat me up you wouldn't have worried and we wouldn't be better than we have been since I got back," he shrugged.

She smiled. "I don't think he'd be too happy to hear he helped you out."

He looked slightly worried. "Yeah, I'm not sure I'll get off so lightly next time if he heard he helped me the first time."

"First time?" Mia chuckled. "First time he beat you up was not that night, do you not remember outside the diner that time?"

"I had him," Brian pouted. "If Dom didn't interrupt I would have so won that fight."

"Sure you would have," she laughed. "I'll let you have that one."

He put his lips close to hers. "Really?"

She nodded nervously, but moved forward a little, pressing her lips to his. He hadn't planned to kiss her, he just wanted to see how close he could get. But once the shock wore off he kissed her properly. She responded instantly and wrapped her arms tightly around him. His mind was racing.

Eventually he had to pull away and he gasped for air. Mia looked worried but he smiled before kissing her neck. She tried to see if he was OK but she melted against him. Her head rolled back and she moaned a little as he nibbled just below her ear.

"As much as I like you putting on a show with my sister, mind stopping?"

They moved apart slightly and received a groan from everyone who had been watching. Mia blushed as she looked at the floor. "Sorry," Brian muttered. "I got carried away."

"Uhuh," Dom nodded as he went to walk away. "Just remember who you're getting carried away with."


	12. Chapter 12

**Wow. Hi guys, I didn't realise it had been a week since I last updated. I did write this chapter after I last updated but it didn't feel right so I scraped it and decided to take a break from this fic. I hope you enjoy this chapter nonetheless.**

* * *

Brian stretched out across the bed, he groaned as his body tried to protest. It hurt but that was a small price to pay for how amazing it felt to spread out. He sat up slowly and swung his legs off the end of the bed. He stayed sitting for a moment or two before he stood to go into the bathroom.

After he was washed he slipped on some decent clothes and headed downstairs. When he got there everyone was already awake and in the kitchen eating breakfast. They had to bring in one of the fold down tables from the shed and spare chairs just to fit everyone around it.

As he stepped into the kitchen nobody looked up from their plates. He went over to stand by Mia who was by the cooker. She smiled at him before turning away. She picked up two plates and showed him them.

"I put two plates aside for us," she explained.

"Favouritism!" Leon shouted before shovelling more food into his mouth.

Not wanting to squeeze onto the table with everyone else, Brian leaned against the counter and ate his food standing up. Mia stood beside him but used the counter as a table. He kept glancing at her, he still needed to talk to her. After the party yesterday he had decided that he was going to speak to Mia about where they were. He wanted to be sure so that he wouldn't have to assume.

After they had eaten Mia collected up the dishes to wash while the others disappeared. Brian offered to stay and help her. They would be alone and he could get the chance to talk to her in detail.

"Bri, we need to talk."

He turned around to see Rome in the doorway. Sighing, he wiped his hands and headed out into the empty living room. He sat down on the couch. "About?"

"Miami," Rome sighed. "Look, it was all well and good getting Tej and Suki to run things while we were down here for a few weeks but it doesn't look like you'll be leaving any time soon."

"Well, we got the boys working at the garage," Brian shrugged. "Why don't we get Suki to take over doing design work?"

"Makes sense," Rome agreed. "She does need a job and Tej's place isn't big enough for that sort of design work, not the scale Suki wants to do anyway. It could work."

"Are you going back?" Brian asked.

"I'm thinking about it, I might swap between here and Miami."

"I might give my half of the garage to Tej for him to run," Brian informed. "Jimmy and that can work between the two, they do it anyway so it makes sense really."

"He'd love that man," Rome laughed. "Well, he'd love it for the extra space but not for the idea of working with me."

"Just because I won't be working there though doesn't mean I won't stay interested," Brian warned. "So you two better get on well enough."

"When are you going to tell him?"

"I need to sort some things out," Brian sighed. "But I might tell Suki at dinner about the job, she can have that either way."

Rome nodded. They shook on it briefly before Rome went to leave and Brian went back into the kitchen. Mia was just putting away the last of the dishes so he took a seat at the table to wait. Once she had, she emptied the sink and came to sit with him.

"What did Rome want?"

"Arrangements for the garage and how long we would be here for."

"How long _will _you be here for?"

"Rome is thinking of going back to Miami but will definitely come back to LA when he can," Brian explained. "I'm not sure though."

"Why aren't you sure?"

"Because I need to talk to you," he said quietly.

"About?" she asked quietly. She held her hands together and stared at the table.

"Look, Mi," he whispered. "Things have been great between us since I ended up in the hospital and I honestly don't want to ruin things between us but I need to know where we stand."

"I understand," she nodded. "Look, we were going to go to the beach at some point today, probably after they check over the work at the garage, then we'll come home for dinner. Can I give you my answer after dinner?"

"Mia," he groaned.

"I know, I know," she said hastily. "But at least I'll be able to see how we do with spending the day together and being like a family again."

He nodded. "Yeah, OK. Because I need to know soon, I'm balancing everything on this."

"If I say we can only be friends you'll go back to Miami with them, won't you?" she asked sadly.

"I'll come back to visit with Rome," he sighed. "But yes, I need to get back to my life, Mi. But if you want me or things could work then I'll stay, I've got plans either way."

She nodded quietly before slipping out of the kitchen. He slouched in his chair and let out a low groan as he ran his hands over his face. He never wanted to rush Mia into making a decision like that but he needed to know. Essentially his whole life was riding on what she said. If she only wanted to be friends then he would go back to Miami and try to move on from her once and for all, but if she said they could try things up again then he would give his half of the garage to Tej and stay in LA for good.

* * *

Mia and Brian walked along the beach hand in hand. They stuck to the dry sand for now while Vince, Leon, Rome and Jesse messed about in the water. Letty, Dom, Tej and Suki were all lying around near their stuff, sunbathing and relaxing. They had been at the beach for almost an hour now. Mia had driven her and Brian, she was too afraid to let him get behind the wheel of a car. When they had arrived they stayed as one big group but then they slowly broke apart. Mia had started by sunbathing so Brian lay down beside her. He even offered to put sun block on her back for her. She had smiled and nodded before rolling over to let him.

It was not long after that that Brian suggested they go for a walk. They were now so far from the others that they could barely make them out. He had found himself smiling when she reached for his hand and held it tightly.

"We could go to the beach every weekend if you wanted," he smiled.

"Really?" It was no secret that Mia loved the beach, she had said once that it calmed her down just like cars and engines calmed down the team.

He nodded. "It could be our thing, like how Sundays are made for barbecues."

"And what if we get bored?" she asked.

"We could go shopping instead, or the park, or even just drive around," he shrugged. "We could do anything."

She smiled. "I have missed you, Bri."

He paused for a moment to kiss the top of her head before continuing to walk. "I never stopped thinking about you."

She looked up at him, he looked at her out of the corner of his eye and they smiled. "It's nice to be thought about," she whispered.

"I won't hurt you like I did before," he said softly. "I didn't even want to hurt you then. I never meant to fall in love with you, but I did."

She shrugged. "I fell in love with you too."

He smiled as he held her hand tighter. They turned around at that point and headed back to everyone else. They walked slowly so that they could be alone a little longer but they got back eventually. Everyone was back to sitting around. Some were lying down, some were sitting and talking and some were even building sandcastles.

Brian chose to sit at the edge of the group. He laid back on a beach towel and closed his eyes. He felt a weight on his chest. It made him wince but when he opened his eyes he saw it was Mia. She smiled sadly and went to move but he held her to him. She lay perfectly still on top of him and even tried to keep her weight off of his ribs.

"Hello you," he whispered softly as he traced patterns on her lower back.

She kissed his nose. "Hi."

"I need you, Mi," he whispered sadly.

She nodded. "Maybe I need you too."

He smiled and closed his eyes again, it was probably the best he was going to get just now. He felt her rest her head on his chest. He kept his arms around her and tried to count her heartbeats as they hit his chest.

Eventually she rolled away and sat beside him. He opened his eyes and rested a hand on her thigh as she sat crossed legged. She smiled down at him and went to kiss him but Dom chose that very moment to say they better be getting back to get dinner ready.

He sighed but she leaned down and kissed him anyway. He was a little in shock as he watched her grab her things and walk back up to the car. He scrambled to get his things and followed her. When they got there they threw their things in the back of the car. He turned her round so that she was leaning against the car. He stepped closer and kissed her. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. He smiled as he pulled away. He kissed her again quickly as she pouted. She smiled in response before they climbed into the car.

When they arrived they all went to change. Unfortunately the shower came with a big queue meaning that the last half of the queue was left with cold water. Brian was more than happy when he was in the warm half. After his shower he went downstairs to find that Dom, Letty and Suki were sorting out the barbecue and table while Mia was sorting out things in the kitchen. He chose to help Mia and with both sets of hands they managed to get things done quickly and take them out to the waiting table.

Eventually they were all sat around the table and grace was said. The guys got through their food in barely any time leaving Letty, Suki and Mia to roll their eyes and take their time. When everyone had finally finished they all sat around, too lazy to move.

"Hey, Suki," Brian smiled. "I got a job opportunity for you."

She turned to look at him, a confused expression on her face. "What you talking about?"

"We have the space and time to do some big designs at the garage," Brian explained. "So, we just need some kickass designer, that's where you come in."

She got up and ran round to his side of the table. He stood up and she hugged him tightly. "What kind of designs?"

"You'll be in charge of it," he smiled. "You can even show some of the customers your designs."

Her smile grew even bigger. "Thank you!"

"Typical," Tej muttered.

"Don't Tej," Suki warned.

"What's typical?" Brian asked.

Tej got up and went to stand in front of Brian. Suki stepped away as he got closer. "You, everything has to be about you!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Brian demanded.

"You ruin everything," Tej explained. "No one gets a look in when you're around."

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about."

"I told you I was extending my garage, I told you I was doing that weeks ago but I was waiting to see how the finance side of things went. I told you just before you came down here that it was going great. I was going to tell Suki when you came back and offer her her own space so that she could actually use some of her designs and bring them to life."

Brain closed his eyes and swore quietly under his breath. "I'm sorry Tej, I forgot all about that but I can make things better."

"No, forget it," Tej said as shoved Brain.

He went to say something but as he did Tej punched him in the face. He fell back onto the floor and put a hand to his face as he felt blood drip from his nose. He sat up and looked up at Tej. Suki was tugging on his arm and talking to him.

"Tej, man," Brian pleaded. "Let me talk."

"Screw you, Bri," Tej growled before walking away.

* * *

**It's not perfect but it was longer than I thought since I last updated so I figured I'd better give ya'll something. :)**


	13. Chapter 13

It had been two hours since Tej stormed off. Brian had wanted to go after him but figured he would give him space. Suki and Rome had gone after him instead. Rome only paused to promise that he would inform them of what was happening as soon as possible.

Suddenly Rome came running into the living room out of breath. Brian was already tense but was even more so now that he saw how rushed Rome seemed. They all started at him, eager for him to continued.

"They're leaving," he managed to gasp.

"When?"

"Now, they're outside," he breathed. "Wanted to say goodbye to the team."

They all rushed out and sure enough Tej and Suki were waiting by his car. The two stepped forward and said goodbye to everyone. Brian held back, not wanting to cause trouble. When he did finally stepped closer Tej climbed into the driver's seat. Suki smiled sadly before reaching up to hug him.

"I'll talk him round," she whispered.

He nodded. "Yeah, thanks Suki."

She just smiled as she climbed into the car. Brian watched sadly as they drove away. He didn't know what he would do if he never heard from them again. He sighed helplessly as he turned around to head back inside.

When he reached the front door he felt Mia take hold of his hand. He allowed her to drag him upstairs and into the bedroom. She dropped his hand as they entered and went to sit on the bed. She sat quietly as he shut the door.

"I was going to give him my half of the garage," Brian whispered as he sat on the bed beside her.

"You were?"

"If you wanted me to stay here that is."

She smiled awkwardly and looked at the floor. "I guess you should call him and tell him the good news then."

He looked at her in shock. "Seriously?"

"I want to try and start things up again with us," she whispered. "I should've done it a while ago."

"I won't mess this up," he told her hurriedly. "We don't have to be official or anything. It's completely your own choice."

"Let's not tell the others just yet," she sighed. "Till things are sorted in general and with us."

Looking at her he just wanted to throw her down and make up for all the time they had missed out on but instead he settled for kissing her gently. She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. It took all he had to not lose control, he honestly wasn't going to do anything to make her run in the opposite direction.

"Last chance, Bri," she whispered. "Please don't mess this up."

* * *

Brian sat on top of the filing cabinet and swung his legs back and forward. Since the events with Tej he had been leaving the house more. It was a distraction more than anything else. Tej wasn't returning his calls and Suki could rarely answer. Jimmy and that only answered because it was their job.

"I need to do something or I'm going to go mad," he complained. Partly it was from the frustrating phone call attempts and partly because he was in a garage _not_ working on a car.

"I am not getting on Mia's bad side," Jesse chuckled.

"None of us are," Leon added. "So sit tight like a good boy."

"If Tej was here to see you then he wouldn't be so angry," Leon chuckled.

Brian thew a balled up piece of paper at him. "It's not funny. I want to get under the hood of one of those cars."

"I said you could look," Mia said as she came out of the office. "You just can't work on one, that's all."

"But that's the best part!"

She smiled. "I know that."

Brian went to argue but then froze. "Not gonna tease me, Rome?"

Everyone had been teasing him all day but Rome was the only one who hadn't.

"About?"

"Where's your head at?" Letty asked as she tapped the side of Rome's head. "Brian has been sulking all day about not being able to work on a car."

"Oh, right," Rome nodded.

"Talk," Brian demanded.

"Just thinking about going back to Miami earlier than I first thought."

Everyone stopped working and moved to get a better look at Rome. He hadn't been with them that long but they all got the impression that he loved it in LA. They never expected him to go back home, ever.

"For a visit, right?" Letty asked.

He shook his head. "Nah, girl. if I'm going home to stay then I'll only come back every so often for a holiday, especially if my boy will be staying here."

Brian nodded. "I don't see you staying away for long."

Rome smiled and looked like he was actually with them now. "Ha, you're not wrong there. I'm hittin' these straights next time for sure so I won't be waiting long at all."

He rolled his eyes as everyone went in to discuss that. Brian hopped off of the filing cabinet and headed outside. He sat on the small wall nearby and pulled out his phone. He called Tej but as usual it went to voicemail. He left the same message as always before he tried it again. He called five times but after receiving voicemail each time he gave up. He tried Suki after that but she didn't answer either. When he tried the office phone Jimmy answered but was guarded when Brian asked about Tej.

He decided to lie back on the wall after putting his phone back in his pocket. He breathed out and tried to stay calm. Why couldn't everything in his life be perfect all at the same time?

They stayed at the garage for another two hours after Brian went back inside before they closed up. Mia seemed to notice the tension in Brian so when they got into her car she didn't drive to the fort. Instead she just kept driving, taking whichever turn came to mind first so that she was driving around aimlessly.

Brian relaxed against the seat as he turned on some music and watched the scenery blow past. Eventually he turned his attention to Mia. She pushed the pedal hard so the car went over the limit and did a few risky turns around sharp corners. Brian had missed seeing her like this.

"You should race," he commented.

"I know how to and I love speed but to be honest with you, it's not my scene."

"We could race," he offered. "No crowd, no wager, just us two and the track."

She smiled. "I'll smoke your ass."

"Well to be honest if you do, the prize I would give you will benefit me too."

"Is that right?" She asked as she put her hand on his knee then slowly stroked up to the top of his leg where she stopped.

"Yes," he gulped as a shudder washed over him.

She smirked slightly. "Maybe racing you won't be so bad then."

He grinned happily as he leaned back and continued to watch her drive. She started to work out where they were and then headed back to the fort. She was pretty happy with herself. She didn't doubt that Brian was probably still thinking about Tej and what happened but at least he seemed more relaxed now.

They parked out and he got out first. He smiled down at Mia who was now stood quietly beside him. He put his arm around her shoulders and they walked up towards the house.

* * *

A couple of days later Brian was getting nowhere with the Tej situation. He kept calling multiple times each day but Tej never answered. Suki rarely did now and if Jimmy did then he only spoke about work, never about Tej. He started to think that maybe he should give up for now so that Tej had time to cool down.

Other than that situation things were going great, especially with Mia. They talked loads, had been on a proper date and he had even moved into her room the previous day. On top of that he was almost completely healed after Vince's beating. A couple of his ribs were a little bruised but it was nothing really.

When they went downstairs after spending some time in Mia's room everyone was sat around the living room. Leon and Jesse were playing some video games, Letty and Dom were curled up on the armchair and Vince was on the couch.

Mia sat next to Vince so that Brian wouldn't have to. After a few minutes of watching them play games she shuffled closer to Brian.

"It's about time you two got together," Leon said over his shoulder.

"We wanted to take our time" Brian said as he moved to get up. "I'm getting a beer."

"No, I got it."

They all looked around shocked to see that it was Vince who had spoken. He ignored them as he went into the kitchen. Even Jesse and Leon had completely abandoned their game to look at him. Brian sunk back into the couch.

"You don't think he's going to poison my beer or anything?"

"No, O'Conner," Vince said as he came back in. "I'm going to let you open it so you know you're safe."

Brian took the beer and opened it. He drank some of it. "Thanks, V."

Vince huffed as he drank his own. "Don't."

"Going soft, Coyote?" Leon teased.

Vince growled. "Keep pushing it and we'll see how soft I am."

Brian chuckled as he leaned back. He lifted his arm a little to let Mia cuddle into his side. Considering the fact Tej was angry with him and hadn't answered his phone calls since yesterday Brian couldn't help but be happy at that moment. He seemed to have gained Dominic's respect, he would soon start working in the garage, he was doing well with Mia and he felt like he actually had a family. Coming back to LA seemed like the best choice he had made in a long time. He only hoped he hadn't ruined everything back in Miami in exchange.

* * *

_I would like to thank McGarrett-Williams as some aspects in this chapter were down to him (:_


	14. Chapter 14

The next day nobody in Miami picked up the phone to Brian. Suki had slowly stopped and even Jimmy never answered now. Sometimes the phone only rang once, prompting him to think that they were deliberately ending the call. Even when he called the garage phone nobody answered, it worried him.

Even though he wished he would be told what was going on he was shocked when he received a phone call from Tej. He stared at it for a moment as everyone in the garage slowed their movements.

"Hello?" he asked as he finally picked up.

Everyone in the garage looked at him. He stopped helping Dom with the car and stepped away. It was so silent in the garage that you could hear a pin drop. They were all waiting to hear what the phone call was about.

"Hey, man," Tej mumbled.

"Does this means I'm forgiven?"

"You were forgiven before now but things fucked up over here, man."

"What happened?" Brian demanded. "Is it the garage?"

At that mention Rome came closer. "What's going on?"

"Carter Verone got out of prison," Tej sighed. "No one knows how but he went looking for you and Rome, we were all out for lunch so it was locked up but they trashed the place."

"Is it fixable?"

"Should be but it'll cost you. I knew as soon as I felt worried about you guys that we would definitely be fine and work things out."

"Look man, don't worry, I'll sort the garage out just stay safe, yeah?"

"We'll cover you for now," Tej told him. "Just keep your ass away from him. And Rome."

"I better tell him," Brian mumbled. "I'll talk to you later, yeah?"

"Count on it."

They both hung up and Brian paced for a moment, debating on what to do. Would Verone know that he had come to LA? And if he did, had Brian brought more trouble for his newly re-discovered family?

"Don't leave me hanging here, man."

He looked at Rome then sighed. "Verone is out."

Rome stumbled a little at the words. "How?"

Brian just shrugged. "No one knows but he trashed the garage."

"Son of a bitch," Rome breathed.

"We got trouble, O'Conner?" Dom asked, eyebrow raised.

"Not if I can help it," he muttered. "I won't let anything happen here."

"Don't worry, we've got your back," Dom assured."

* * *

Brian had called Tej later to confirm that they were really OK. He found out that Verone had check out some leads in Miami but couldn't find anything. Surely he wouldn't know about LA, right?

Hector had planned an outdoor party with lots of alcohol, music and anything else needed for a great time. Brian and Rome didn't want to go incase Verone found them but they were forcibly dragged.

Mia stayed glued to Brian's side. For once he wished she wouldn't. If Verone did show then he didn't want her to be there. God knows what he would do with her if he found out how Brian felt.

"Relax," she whispered into his ear as they danced.

"It's kind of difficult."

"If he comes, he comes," she shrugged. "Look at how many people are around."

"You under estimate him."

"You took him down once," she smiled. "You can do it again."

He relaxed a little as the conversation grew. He wrapped his arms tighter around her and even kissed her a few times. They danced for ages before they dissapeared to get drinks and to mingle with some people.

He was still a little tense about Verone as the night progressed but he tried not to show it around Mia. He and the team sat around on fold up chairs listening to the music and talking. Mia was on Brian's lap and he was drawing patterns on her legs.

A single shot went off. _Bang_.

The team was instantly up but Brian and Rome were the ones to push through. The music turned off completely and shuffling could be heard all over. When they reached where it had come from they saw him stood there.

Verone raised the gun to point at them as did the half a dozen men who were with them. They seemd unphased by the watching crowd and just kept their guns trained on Brian and Rome.

"Well, well," Verone chuckled. "Big surprise seeing you boys here."

"More of a surprise seeing you here," Rome retorted. "This is an invite only sort of party."

He motioned to his gun. "That is my invitation."

"Yeah, you seem so big hiding behind that thing," Rome chuckled.

Verone put his gun away and motioned for two of his men to do the same. "So we gonna sort this out hand to hand then?"

Rome jumped on the spot as Brian accessed the two chosen guys. They looked like they had brawn but definitely no brains. "It's on," Brian smirked.

The five of them circled each other and one of Verone's wing men ran forward. He was taken out instantly as Rome grabbed him and slammed him into the ground. The second goon took an attempt at Rome as Verone took a swing at Brian. He ducked and managed to punch Verone in the stomach. Winded, he stumbled backwards for a moment before he charged. Brian caught him and they spun round before falling to the ground.

"You OK?" Rome called as he punched the goon.

"As good as I can be in this situation," Brian replied as he dodged a couple of blows to the head.

One strike hit the side of his head and he felt ringing. He blinked rapidly a few times as a groan escape his lips. He only managed to dodge the next attack before he kicked Verone in the shin. Just as Brian was about to knock Verone down Brian froze.

"Time to cut to the chase," he smirked as he held the gun at Brian's head.

The two goons moved to stand behind Verone and Rome stayed where he was. The entire crowd became silent but then that was broken when they heard sirens. Flashing lights appeared in the distance causing everyone to scarper. Brian, Rome and the rest of the team managed to get away and back into their cars.

Naturally it ended up being Verone that chased Brian. He and Mia were in Mia's car. She was driving and his heart went into overdrive at the possibility of what could happen to her.

"Lead him towards them," he told her.

"Are you crazy?" She yelled. "If the cops catch us we can get into trouble."

"So could he," Brian compromised. "So do it."

She thought about it for a moment before turning to race towards the oncoming cop cars. Verone continued to follow them and at the last minute he zoomed pass them as Mia did one of her dangerous turns into a side street.

After an hour of driving around they were sure that no one was following them. They both felt the adrenaline rush so they climbed out of the car. Mia sat on the hood of the car as Brian paced. Eventually he groaned in frustration before rushing to Mia. She tried to speak but his lips came crashing down on hers. She wrapped her legs around his waist to pull him closer as he started to unbutton her shirt.

* * *

_Again, I'd like to give a special thanks to McGarrett-Williams!_

_And I'm sorry it's a little short but I hope you enjoyed it (: reviews, maybe?_


	15. Chapter 15

The next day the team decided to travel to Miami to check up on things. No one had heard a thing about Verone so it seemed pointless to hang around like sitting ducks. It almost didn't happen as Mia and Brian never left the bedroom. Since having sex on and in Mia's car they spent every moment they could in their bedroom. Much to some people's annoyance.

But eventually they were dragged away and the team made it down to Miami. The garage really was a state and Brian almost drove passed it as they arrived.

"Shit," Rome breathed as they walked in. "They really went to town on the expensive things."

"This is gonna cost a bomb," Jesse noted as he accessed the damaged.

"Yeah, we'll have to get things sorted, work out the prices and see what we'll need first," Brian mumbled.

"We'll all put towards it for now," Dom decided. "When do you need it sorted by?"

"Soon as possible."

"How come?" Tej asked as he walked in with Suki.

"Oh," Brian hesitated for a moment. It didn't seem like the right time but he had no choice. "I was going to give you my half of the garage."

Tej froze in shock. "Well then there's no need for y'all to get involved."

"We wanna," Letty assured him.

"Nah," Tej shook his head. "If the garage is partly going to be mine then I'll combine it with my own garage. So the money from that can go toward fixing and replacing this stuff."

"I'll stick around and do some races," Rome decided.

"You can work at mine till this place is sorted if you want?" Tej offered.

Rome accepted the offer before kicking a nearby empty tool box. It was Brian who spoke next. "I'll send money from LA whenever I make a good amount to go towards it."

"And if we're needed at all we will definitely help," Dom added.

"Thanks," Tej nodded. "But how about we worry about this later? Let's go and see some water racing."

Everyone apart from Suki, Rome and Brian looked confused as to what Tej was going on about but they followed him out to their cars.

They drove down to the water front and a crowd waited. Tej was instantly cheered and he interacted with only a few people. Brian noticed the impressed look on Dom's face as he seemed to realise that Tej was the most respected man in these parts. He called for any racers and only two people stepped forward. They handed over two large and disappeared. Seconds later they appeared on the water, atop jet skis. They settled at the starting line as the team took front row seats around Suki, Tej and Rome.

Tej counted down and screamed go. The jet ski's jumped forward and they hurtled across the water, throwing spray up behind them. Rome and Brian chuckled at the amazed looks on the teams faces. This would be a first for them, an experience they wouldn't ever have thought they would get.

After the water races Tej turned up the music and everyone mingled. Brian watched happily as Mia looked around in amazement. He introduced her to some people he knew before they settled into some dancing. When the sun started to go down the party got more intense. Girls lost even more clothes, music seemed to change and more people arrived. That was when thy all headed back to the garage.

Letty, Jesse, Leon and Vince rummaged through for anything that would be worthwhile to keep. Dom went on the phone with Harry about connections in case they needed to pull some strings. Rome and Tej went over the books in order to cancel any bookings and attempt to move them to Tej's solo garage. Mia and Suki sat back and watched till they were needed while Brian paced. He was trying to think of quick ways to get this sorted. Of course, racing was the best best.

He had no more time to think when he heard cars pull up. They all headed out to the front of the garage to see two cars with four men. They all pointed guns towards the garage and fired. Each bullet hit the building and nothing else.

"Next time we'll use you lot as targets," one of them yelled.

"You got no business being here," Brian said angrily.

"We're here on behalf of Verone," he informed.

_On behalf? So where was he? _Brian thought

"Back the fuck off," Rome growled. "Private property."

He fired his gun again and took out one of the unbroken windows. "Sorry, what was that?"

"Back down, man," Letty muttered. "Seriously wasting your time."

One of the other three, the smallest it seemed, pointed his gun at Letty. Dom growled protectively as he stood between Letty and the gun. The biggest of them all decided to point his weapon at Mia. Brian was about to move but it was Vince who stood in front of her. Tej then stepped in front of Suki before the remaining guy could train his gun on her.

"How about a deal?" Brian offered.

"What sort of deal?"

"Race."

"Who against who?"

"You and I," Brian shrugged. "Then three of my guys against your three."

"Which three?"

Brian accessed those standing around him. "Dom, Vince and Rome." He was honestly considering Suki but at the last minute he changed his mind.

"I have two cars," he pointed out after seeing who Brian had chosen.

"Two tag team races then," Brian shrugged. "First pair race, then the second pair go when their partners get back. We do that twice."

He thought about it for a moment before nodding. "You're on."

They all got into their cars and drove towards an abandoned strip of road about half an hour away. For the races they chose Dom's Mazda and Brian's Skyline. They would race to the end of the street, do a handbrake turn and race back. Up first was Dom and Vince against the larger one and the smallest one, whose names were revealed to be Raoul and Carlos. Vince was up against Raoul, he fell behind at first but when he heard Raoul shout obscenities about Mia he sped up and won by a full car length. Dom shot forward as Vince crossed the line and got a good head start. They'd won the first half, they now needed this one. He hurtled to the end and as he turned he saw that Carlos was only half way down. Dom grinned as he passed him and shot across the line.

When Carlos came back he wasn't happy but was told to be silent. Up next was Nico (the one who did all the talking) and Sam. Rome gleamed when he got to take Dom's Mazda, although Dom wasn't happy, he really hadn't thought it through.

Rome was up first against Sam. They hurtled forward and stayed neck and neck till Sam pulled forward having done the handbrake turn better than Rome. Unfortunately Rome crossed last but seen as Vince and Dom won the last two it meant they were in lead. Only problem, Brian would have to win. He tried not to think about that as he shot forward. He was neck and neck with Nico and they both did the handbrake turn perfectly, at the same time. They were still neck in neck until Nico rammed his car into Brian's. He cursed as the Nissan was pushed over slightly. He regained controlled and rammed the back end of Nico's car. It pushed out at the back slightly allowing Brian to pushed forward and pass the line just by an inch.


	16. Chapter 16

The team all beamed as Brian stepped out of his car. Mia ran to him and hugged him tightly. He stared triumphantly at the Verone's boys. None of them looked happy but at least Nico was keeping his cool, _so far_.

"Now move the fuck on," Rome warned.

"And tell your boss if he's unhappy with the arrangement then he needs to get himself some better company," Brian added.

Carlos held his gun up again, he was definitely trigger happy. "Maybe we don't like the arrangement either."

Nico placed his hand on top of the gun and lowered it. "We had a deal. They won and _we're_ sticking to it. If Verone wants to try and hit them again then we'll deal with it then."

Reluctantly the boys climbed into the two cars and drove away. Mia jumped excitedly and kissed Brian passionately. She was suddenly pulled back and when she looked up Dom was looking off into the distant as if nothing had happened. She narrowed her eyes but he just smiled.

He disappeared over to his car where Jesse was taking a look under the hood. Rome was complaining about how Dom didn't trust him with his car. Brian couldn't help but laugh when everyone told Rome not to worry.

"You keep bringing trouble to us," Leon laughed.

"At least he pulled us out of it each time," Jesse shrugged as he closed Dom's car up.

"Yeah, O'Conner," Dom smiled as he sat on the hood of his car and Letty came to stand with him. "First a bent cop then a criminal. You really do attract the best."

"I don't do it on purpose," Brian mumbled. "Renner went after me because I got away with turning on the cops, he probably only went after me now because I came back to you guys. And as for Verone, that's also Rome's fault."

"Hey, man! That's not cool," Rome said defensively. "And how the hell were we supposed to know that he would get out of prison?"

"You're right," Tej grinned. "You're dumb ass wouldn't even know left from right."

"Boys," Suki said with a roll of her eyes as they started to fight.

Brian smiled as he hugged Mia closely. They didn't stay too much longer before they climbed back into their cars and drove home. As they drove Mia took notice of the inside of Brian's Skyline. He felt oddly proud about that fact. She seemed impressed enough and he grinned at that fact.

She relaxed into her seat and reached out to place her hand on his leg. A shiver ran over him as he tried to look forward and not down at her hand. She only moved it up his leg a little but for the entire ride she just held it there. It put him on edge more than anything because he was unsure whether she would move her hand or not.

When they got home he pulled her from the car, locked it swiftly then pulled her towards the house. She laughed and tried to ignore the looks from everyone as she was dragged upstairs to the bedroom.

-

"Maybe we should try a date," Mia chuckled as they laid tangled in the sheets.

"Or we could stay in the bedroom for the rest of our lives."

She rolled her eyes and shoved him slightly. "Believe it or not, I do like wearing clothes."

"Well why don't we get showered and dressed," he suggested. "It's still early, we could go out and get some dinner."

She thought about it for a moment then nodded. "But so I'm sure we'll actually go, you can shower first."

He groaned before rolling out of bed and walking naked towards the shower. He switched on the shower, waited for it to warm up then hopped in. He stood motionless below the spray, allowing it to wash over him. When he was confident that he had been in long enough and washed all over he climbed out.

He walked back into the room and grabbed a towel from the bag. He wrapped it round his waist and stood with his hands on his hips.

"I had to move," he said, left eyebrow cocked. "You have to now."

She groaned a little as she stretched and rolled off the bed. As she walked by she stopped and rested her hands on his chest before she kissed him softly.

He watched longingly as she disappeared into the bathroom. He dried himself off before letting the towel drop. He pulled on some boxers and a nice pair of dark blue jeans. He pulled on a white thirst before pulling on a pale blue shirt. He put on a pair of socks then waited on the bed for Mia to come out.

When she did she put on some underwear before sitting down to do her hair. She blow dried it before putting it up into a bun. She then put on a light layer of foundation before pulling on a pair of black skin tight jeans and a light grey tank with a flowery pattern on the front. She settled into a pair of black heels before turning to Brian.

"Remind me why we can't stay in the bedroom?" He asked as he looked her up and down.

"There'll be plenty of time for that after," she assured.

He pushed himself up off of the bed and put his shoes on. He checked he had his phone and wallet before going over to her. "I guess I could wait a while."

She rolled her eyes but still kissed him back as he pressed his lips to hers. "We better go before you get carried away."

He chuckled as he took her hand and led her downstairs. They shouted a goodbye and narrowly missed being interrogated by Dom. Brian felt sorry for anyone who had chosen to date Mia when she was a teenager, but then he remembered Vince dated her about that time and he couldn't stop smiling. She eyed him suspiciously but he just shrugged.

His smile only grew and grew as she led him over to his Skyline. They climbed in and she stretched out as he took off.

It took them twenty minutes to get to the little restaurant that Brian loved. When they got there he ordered his favourite then waited while Mia decided and ordered hers. They drank a bottle of wine while they waited and during dinner then when dessert came they ordered another bottle. They talked for hours, especially between meals when they would sit with a glass of wine and find out more things about each other.

After their meal they took the rest of the wine bottle with them. They drank it as they walked, something that shocked Brian, he never thought Mia would drink wine from the bottle. They headed down to the water front and walked along the path. As he watched the water Mia jumped up onto his back. He managed to steady himself before holding onto her legs to keep her up and steady.

They walked for almost an hour when she hopped down. They threw away the now empty bottle of wine before heading back. Half way back he carried her on his back again.

"Comfy?" He asked.

She nodded. "Definitely. But are you OK?"

"If you are then I am."

"You've changed," she commented.

He shrugged. "Well, I had to keep myself a secret before, I could only show what was important."

"Bri, this sort of stuff is important," she whispered.

"I didn't want to pull you even closer to me," he said sadly. "Not when everything you felt for me was because of a lie."

"That's not true," she mumbled. "I'm here with you now, aren't I? This isn't because of a lie."

"I guess," he smiled.

"I love you, Bri," she said softly as she kissed the back of his neck.

He shivered. "Yeah… I love you too."

They walked in silence after that, both happy just being there. He only let her down when they reached his car. He opened the passenger side door for her, then closed it once she was in before going to his side. He smiled over at her as he got in. He thought happily to himself as he drove. He'd had enough bad luck to last him a life time, maybe now was his chance to be properly happy.


	17. Chapter 17

They stayed in Miami for an extra few days to help with the garage. The night before they were supposed to go home they went to the races. They all got ready and met up at one area before travelling down to where the races were going to be. They all travelled in their own cars except Mia went with Letty.

When they arrived Tej, Suki and Rome were already there. Tej greeted Brian as he gave in his money for the race. He stood with Mia afterwards till the race started. The scene was just like it was in LA only the company was different.

"They'll never let you live it down if you lose," Mia smiled. "Especially after you said you were the best down here."

"Then it's a good thing that I won't lose."

He looked out over the "track". It was the same one he took when the cops caught him and his Skyline had been targeted. He heard Tej debate whether or not to higher the bridge again. He was honestly thankful when they decided not to.

When the race was about to start he kissed Mia for luck before driving his car up to the line. Suki was next to him and then two new people. One had a purple Eclipse and the other had an orange Honda similar to Suki's. Brian caught the team whispering to each other, no doubt debating whether or not he could actually pull it off.

The typical racer chaser came to stand in front of them. She raised her hands, stuck her hip out to the side, flashed a quick grin then lowered her hands. All of them shot forward at once. They stayed neck and neck but when the first turn came Suki and Brian pushed forward. They managed to keep the lead until the next turn came. Suki took it too wide and pushed out too far, creating a gap for the purple Eclipse and orange Honda to slip through.

When they reached the bridge they were still in the same formation but the guy in the orange Honda slipped back. He had obviously heard the stories about what happened with the bridge. He slowed too much and the others all zoomed a great distance a head. By the time he decided it was safe there was no way he could possibly recover.

Brian managed to keep the lead at a comfortable distance from the others. Suki and the purple Eclipse were fighting it out and ended up neck and neck. They hurtled across the last of it. Knowing that he was in no danger Brian laid off of his NOS. Suki and the purple Eclipse used theirs but even with it they kept behind Brian. Suki's ran out first so she dropped back to third.

They were in those positions as they hurtled across the finish line. Brian swung his car round and got out gleaming. He was happy to see Suki got a good reception even with coming third. She always seemed to, it was hard not to support Suki. He was even happier when Mia threw her arms around him and kissed him fiercely. He smiled at the contact and even more so when the crowd cheered.

He pulled away and walked her to where the team stood. He shrugged off some of the skanks who tried to grab his attention but did stop when he was congratulated by a few people he knew. When he reached the team he grinned happily as he stood behind Mia and wrapped his arms around her.

"So, who lost the bet?"

Vince was the only one to hand money over. "Yeah, alright, you're good."

"I told you my boy was good," Rome chuckled as he dug into a sandwich.

"When are you not eating?" Letty asked.

"When I'm having sex or racing?"

"Lovely," Letty chuckled.

Everyone congratulated him except for Vince who was too sulky about losing his money. It didn't bother Brian, he was more than happy that he had proved Vince wrong. Of course he would never admit that. He knew exactly what it felt like to get on the wrong side of Vince.

After the races they went with everyone to an after party. It was a bigger area than the Toretto's so it was busier and louder. None of the team seemed to mind, they all bathed in it. But they didn't stay as long as they hoped they could. Seen as they were going home the next day they didn't want to stay out all night and get drunk.

* * *

Once everything seemed to be under control with the garage the next day, they headed home. Everyone one seemed sad to say goodbye to Rome, Suki and Tej. But things seemed better when the three of them promised to come and visit as soon as they could. When they got back they all sat around the room and watched the TV. Letty was quick and chose the movie. It was only Jesse who didn't stay to watch it. They were near the end of the movie before Jesse came back. He tried to grab their attention but no one would listen. He rolled his eyes and switched the TV off. He ducked as popcorn and cushions were thrown at him.

"Will you all listen to me?" he asked.

"This better be good," Vince warned.

"Yeah, Jess," Letty complained. "That was my favourite part!"

"I was looking at some stuff on my computer-"

"The geek stuff could've waited till after," Leon sighed.

"Shut up," Jesse said angrily. "I was checking up on Brian's _friends_, and there's new information about Renner."

"What new information?" Brian asked, he had received confirmation from an old friend that Renner had received a fairly short sentence but was still behind bars.

"Apparently a couple of people he set up were in the same prison as him," Jesse smiled. "They were more than willing to give out information on him."

"So… What, Jess?" Brian asked.

"They got even more evidence on him, they expect him to get a pretty lengthy sentence," Jesse grinned. "And and and, apparently he was involved with Verone some years back. He gave up information so that he could get a good deal."

"So where's Verone now?"

"Still out there but once they get him he'll be going away for life. Apparently the case you and Rome help to build and close fell through, but with this new information there's no way in hell he'll be getting off."

"Maybe you do come with good luck, O'Conner," Dom grinned.

"That's if they find, Verone," Vince pointed out.

Leon ruffled his hair. "Always the optimist."

"Just being practical," Vince grumbled as he hit Leon's hand away.

"Well, let's celebrate anyway," Dom decided.

Leon, Jesse and Vince all looked at each other and crossed their fingers. "And do what?" Jesse squeaked.

"Go out for dinner." They all let out a breath but then cheered when Dom added, "but I guess we could add in a party afterwards.

Brian and Mia disappeared and ended up _celebrating _in their own way. No one noticed their disappearance straight away as Dom was getting the party in order and everyone else was too excited. But when they did noticed Leon came upstairs to get them.

"I'd get downstairs if I were you two," he laughed as he knocked on the door.

"Maybe we don't want to go out," Brian said as he opened a door.

"And maybe you want to cover up," Leon said as he covered his eyes.

"Then leave us alone," Brian smiled.

"And suffer from everyone downstairs? Not a chance," he shook his head. "So downstairs, now."

Brian rolled his eyes and shut the door. He frowned when he turned to see Mia was getting dressed. He groaned as he pulled on some clothes and waited for Mia to come out of the bathroom. She was wearing a skin tight black dress with a red pattern on it. He had to sit on his hands so that he wouldn't rip it off when she came over to kiss him.

She grinned happily at the look on his face and dragged him from the room. Dom gave her a disapproving look but said nothing. Brian was unimpressed when he saw the looks Vince was giving her but he felt worse when he saw she was going to be riding with Letty.

He frowned as he got into his own car but was delighted when she came over to him when they arrived. He wrapped an arm around her and led her inside. Luckily for them there was one big table left. They ordered drinks first then went for a shared starter. They all talked for a while and ordered more drinks before they order their main meals.

Vince went to order the next round of drinks but Dom interrupted. Vince looked pissed that he was being denied another drink but Dom ignored him and ordered a bottle of Champaign instead. It wasn't really something the team drunk but there seemed to be a lot to celebrate. Brian was back with them, Renner was going down, Verone hopefully would go down and they were all happy and alive.

They made a toast and ordered some dessert to nibble on. Chocolate cake seemed to be the favourite and they all got extra cream to put on top. They ate happily and managed to drink the entire bottle between them. They sat in their seats till the waiters kept coming past to ask if they needed anything else.

Mia rode with Brian on the way back. When they arrived the party had already started. Hector had set it up with his boys and he greeted Dom as they entered. Mia grabbed Brian's hand and dragged him over to dance. He had had enough to drink so he was more than happy to dance. The entire team were like that, they probably shouldn't have even driven home like that but none of them seemed to care.

They danced for a while and talked as they did so. Brian was so happy that he gave up dancing with Mia so that Vince could. He wondered over and sat down beside Jesse who grinned happily at him.

"How come you're sat here?" Brian asked.

"Just feel like relaxing at this party," he shrugged. "You?"

"Mia's dancing with Vince."

"And you let him?" Jesse chuckled.

"I'm in a good mood," he shrugged. "Plus, it's not like I can keep them apart, right?"

"She was the one who ended things with him," Jesse told him. "She never liked him as much as he liked her. So just because he has a thing for her doesn't mean that she has a thing for him, she probably never will again."

"How old were they when they got together?"

"Erm, she was about 15, and he was about 19 I think. Dom was pissed from what I heard, when we came along they were already together."

"When did they break up?"

"During those two years that Dom went to prison," he shrugged. "It started before that, they were always arguing and shit then Mr T… Y'know and Dom went crazy and of course it hit Mia hard too. They were just less forgiving towards each other."

"They seem to be OK with each other now," Brian commented.

"They always will be," Jesse smiled. "But you can't be upset with that, you have a history too."

"I'm not upset by it, I was just curious," Brian sighed.

"Everyone is jealous of you guys," he said suddenly. "Well, except Dom and Letty, but they have each other."

"Jealous?"

"Yeah, after everything that happened you two seem stronger than ever," he shrugged. "I'd love to have that."

"You will," Brian said confidently.

They stayed talking for a bit, but Brian's thoughts eventually wandered. Everything really was looking up for him.

* * *

_sckraut12 you must have read my mind! I was just writing in the race scene at the beginning of this when I received your review._

_As for some other reviewers, a lot of you mentioned Monica from 2 Fast 2 Furious, I was considering adding her in but to be honest I'm not too fond of her. On top of that I did try to write her but I couldn't. So sorry that she's not in this story, but that's the reasons why._


	18. Chapter 18

Brian stretched and slowly opened his eyes. Mia was lying on her front beside him. Her hair fell softly across her face. As he reached over and brushed it away she rolled onto her back. He shuffled closer to her so that her side was against his chest. He kissed her temple gently and she slowly opened her eyes. She smiled at him as she stretched and moved onto her side to face him.

"Morning," she smiled.

He nodded, returning her smile. "Morning."

"Thanks for being cool with V last night," she yawned.

He shrugged. "Well it was only dancing."

"Yeah," she agreed. "But it still means a lot."

"I'd do anything for you," he whispered as he kissed her.

"I'll hold you to that" she grinned before rolling out of bed.

He stretched his hand out as if to grab her but didn't. "Where are you going?" He asked sadly.

"To freshen up so we can go downstairs for a change."

He groaned as his head sunk further into the pillows. "I like it in here."

"Well we can't stay in here all the time," she told him as she shut the bathroom door.

He moved around the room collecting some clean clothes while she showered. She was only in there for twenty minutes before she came out with a small towel round her middle and a towel on her head. Brian groaned as she slapped his hand away when he tried to remove the towel that was around her waist.

When he got into the bathroom he switched the shower back on. He put his dirty clothes in the hamper before climbing in. He let the water wash over him for a long time before he even started to wash himself properly. After the shower he wrapped the towel round his waist and brushed his teeth. He then dried off and pulled on a pair of three quarter length blue shorts with a grey t-shirt. He put the towel on the wrack then came out to find Mia had already gone downstairs.

When he got there she was curled up on the armchair with a cup of coffee. He wondered into the kitchen and found a cup of coffee waiting for him. He carried it into the living room, took a sip and then put it on the coffee table. He flopped down onto the couch. He lay down with his head furthest away from Mia. He watched her while she watched the TV.

They were like that for almost an hour till the others got home. Vince disappeared into the kitchen to get some food. Jess and Leon soon followed while Letty came over to the couch.

"Shift," she said as she hit Brian's legs.

He rolled his eyes and moved out of the way so that he was sitting properly at one end of the couch. Letty sat beside him while Dom came in and sat on the other end. Once the boys finished their food they came in and lay across the floor on their backs so they could watch TV.

Mia flipped the TV over till she found a movie. They slowly sunk back and relaxed as they watched it together. At some point Leon closed the blinds to block out the light while Mia made some snacks. After the first movie they watched another and then another. Between they would switch positions. The final changes put Jesse on on the arm chair, Brian and Mia cuddled on the couch, Leon on the couch and Dom, Vince and Letty on the floor.

By time the third movie finished the doorbell went. They opened up the blinds which let in some light for everyone to see. It was Letty who was elected to go answer the door.

"He insisted I let him in," she said as she came back into the living room.

"Hey," Tanner said as he walked into view.

Everyone stood up as Letty came over to them. Brian moved in front. "What are doing here?"

"We need to talk."

"No, you need to get out of my house," Dom warned.

"Look, I should've said when I thought something was going wrong with Renner, OK? But this isn't about that," he sighed.

"Then what is it?" Brian asked.

"Verone."

"Yeah, you lot have evidence on him."

He nodded. "And we think he's gonna come to LA."

"So... What?" Brian asked.

"I knew you lot wouldn't accept police protection or anything but I wanted to warn you anyway," he explained before holding out his card. "Please, take this."

Brian took it but didn't look at it. "You can leave now."

He bit his lip but then nodded. "Call me if he shows."

Leon gladly showed Tanner out as Brian put the card onto of the TV.

"Why don't we go out for the day?" Mia suggested as she looked at everyone.

"I'd like that," Jesse smiled.

"Yeah, girl, sounds good," Letty nodded as she wrapped an arm around Mia's shoulders.

They all grabbed key, wallets, phones and other such important items before climbing into their cars. Mia smiled sadly over at Brian who was trying not to grab the steering wheel too hard. He was more anxious than angry, he had a feeling things weren't going to continue to get better but possibly get worse. With his track record he was almost too sure that these feelings would prove right.

They drove to a small seafront cafe. They all took the biggest table in the place and order something light to eat. It was too late for lunch but too early for dinner. They spread out and ordered mainly Coronas and milkshakes to go with it.

"Things better only go up," Letty chuckled up.

"Can things really get any worse?" Leon asked.

Brian sighed and drank the rest of his drink. "Wouldn't surprise me if it got worse."

"Hey, things are starting to go good," Dom said as he pointed a finger at Brian. "If you've just jinxed that I won't be happy."

"Amen to that," Vince agreed as he ate a the rest of his sandwich.

"Stop it guys," Mia said with a roll of her eyes.

"We're only playing," Leon grinned as he leaned back in his chair.

Jesse chuckled as Mia through a bread roll at him then replied sweetly with, "I was only playing."

He pretended to laugh and she just smiled widely at him. At that Dom got the cheque and they all put money towards it. After they paid they headed out and walked along the sea front for a little bit. They stopped at one of the look out points and watched the ocean.

* * *

They had been out for a few hours before they decided to come home. They were lounging around the living room and daylight was almost over when they heard shouting outside. The team looked at each other before heading outside.

Verone and three of his guys were stood on the front lawn. Brian walked down the path and over to them before anyone else could.

"Jess, Mia, Letty... Go inside," Brian told them.

Letty complained but was dragged inside by Jesse and Mia. Vince, Leon and Dom all came to stand behind Brian in a protective manner. Each of them was ready to fight at any notice.

"Me and you only," Brian told Verone.

"Oh really?" He smirked.

"Yeah, they'll stay back." He motioned to Vince, Leon and Dom. "If your boys stay back."

Verone told them to stay put as he rolled his head. Brian cracked his knuckles and avoided a punch from Verone. He swung back with his own and managed to catch Verone's jaw. They circle for a bit till Verone charged. Brian caught him and swung him down onto the floor. He rolled away before getting up, in the process kicking out and tripping Brian over. He landed on his back and felt the air escape him. He tried to get up but couldn't. He struggled as Verone picked him up and held him in the air. As Verone was about to slam him down onto the ground Brian kicked out and hit him in the stomach. Brian was dropped but managed to get up after the fall. He kicked Verone's chest and stomach repeatedly as he tried to regain himself. As he kicked again Verone grabbed his foot and twisted. Brian fell to his knees, his back to Verone who came up behind him. Verone wrapped his arm around Brian's neck and tightened the grip till Brian started to panic.

Just as Dom, Leon and Vince were about to advance forward the cops came zooming down the street. Around 6 police cars and an ambulance car stopped outside the Toretto house, lights going crazy. Neighbours peered out of their windows as Verone was dragged off of Brian. He gasped for air but managed to smile as Verone was put into a police car along with his goons. Mia came running out and threw her arms around Brian who caught her and swung her round.

"Now maybe my luck is changing," Brian smiled.

She nodded eagerly before kissing him. "Definitely. Now we're going to focus on us more, right?"

"More focus?"

"I'm not losing you this time," she smiled. "I won't go through that again."

He kissed her nose as he hugged her. "More focus sounds good to me."

"Good," she sighed happily. "Now go get seen to."

He wondered over to get his neck seen to while the police asked him questions. He told them all about Verone showing up and then the fight. They classed Brian's side as self defence. After the officer went Brian was told that his neck was bruised and would hurt for a while but generally it was fine. He made his thanks before heading back to the team.

He put his arm around Mia and relayed all he had learned about his injuries. As they were grouped together and talking they noticed Tanner. He dismissed the officer he was talking to before heading over to them. Brian shook his head before guiding Mia inside. The rest of the team followed in close pursuit, leaving Tanner to stand alone on the front lawn.

* * *

_Hi guys, there should only be 2 or 3 chapters left of this story... I hope you liked this chapter and I hope you like the rest of the story!_

_R&R_


	19. Chapter 19

Brian and the others all sat around the garage. It had been a week since Verone was arrested outside the house and he kept finding ways to prolong the court case. They had been working hard in the garage, going to countless races and throwing even more parties. On top of that Brian put aside some time to spend only with Mia. He would take her out or just help her to relax at home. They were all on their lunch break when Jesse started coughing.

"Jesus, Jess," Leon said as he went over and repeatedly hit his back.

"Sorry," he choked. "But I picked something up online."

"Something worth choking on?" Leon asked with a roll of his eyes.

He nodded eagerly. "I put a tag on Verone's name so anything about him would notify me. There's a news report."

"What does it say?" Brian asked as he wondered closer to take a look.

"Verone Carter... A whole list of offences... Infamous criminal... Constant prolonged court hearings..." He scrolled and scrolled till he was near the bottom of the article. "Sentence to... 25 to life!"

Everyone cheered but Brian kept a straight face. "Chance of early parole or what?"

Jesse scanned the screen quickly. "It doesn't say, but they wouldn't give him that option, right?"

"Nothing shocks me anymore," Brian sighed as he leaned against the filing cabinet.

"Lighten up, Buster," Vince chuckled. "This is the best things have gone since you got here."

Mia came up to Brian and wrapped her arms around him. "He's right. Doesn't matter what happens with Verone now, forget about him."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he smiled as he wrapped his arms around her. "And it's with good timing."

"Really?" She asked curiously.

He nodded. "I was thinking we could head down to Miami for couple of days. I want to check on the garage first but after that we can relax for a bit."

She smiled happily. "I'd love to!" She turned to Dom. "What about the garage and diner?"

"We're gonna close the diner and we'll be fine with the garage," he explained.

"A couple of days away sounds good," Mia sighed happily.

The team took on Brian's work so that he and Mia could go back to the house and pack. Once they were they stopped by the garage again to say goodbye before heading down to Miami. First stop was the garage. Rome came out to greet them then showed them inside. It was almost completely done and with the new equipment it looked good. They had redesigned it so that even with some of the old stuff it looked different. Suki came over as they were looking and hugged them both just as Tej came out of the garage.

"Place looks good," Brian commented.

Tej nodded and hugged them both. "Yeah man, should be finished in a week then we can take some work."

"How are you for money?"

"Good, man. The lot you sent over helped a bit," Tej said. "Thanks."

"It was no problem," Brian smiled happily as he looked around.

"How long are you here for?" Rome asked.

"Couple of days," Mia said happily.

"Well y'all are gonna have a great time!" Rome chuckled.

"Yeah," Suki grinned. "We're gonna go down to the water soon and watch the races."

"Yeah, we just gotta finish up and then head down," Tej explained. "Why don't we meet you there?"

They all agreed and Mia and Brian made their way down to the water. They walked along, talking to some people as they went. Eventually they found the spot where they knew Tej would be sitting. They settled comfortably into two chairs and waited for the others to arrive.

When they did arrive Tej got the race ready, Rome settled down with some food next to Brian and Suki curled up on a chair next to Mia. They all watched as the racers got the crowd going. They did tricks before they went up to the starting line. There were two guys, one on a blue jet ski and the other on a red one. They kept glancing at each other while they waited. Tej collected the last of the bets before he stood up with his hands raised. The entire crowd went silent and he screamed "go!"

The two jet ski's rushed forward with water spraying up behind them. Brian and Mia noticed that there were sets flags that they had to go through. Blue pulled ahead and hurtled across the water, going between the flags perfectly. However he almost missed the fifth set of flags and it let red pull in front. They managed to stay neck and neck along the empty strip of water towards the end, but red pulled ahead and raised his hands as he passed the finish line.

The crowd erupted and instantly went to congratulate him on winning as he came on land. Tej sorted out the bets before he turned up the music louder. More people went out onto the water but just for fun. The people on land talked, danced and ate. Rome showed Brian and Mia over to the food so that they could get something to eat.

"How you feeling?" Brian asked as they sat down to eat their hotdogs.

"I'm tired, but I definitely don't want to go to sleep," she smiled as she looked around.

"Well tell me when you do and we'll head out."

She nodded. "I will do. I see why you like it here."

"I like it in LA too," he whispered.

"Do you?" She asked seriously.

"Yes," he nodded. "Of course I do."

"OK," she said softy. "But we really need to look at our own place."

He choked on the piece of hotdog he was eating. "Really?" He croaked.

She smiled happily. "Of course... Unless you don't want to?"

He shook his head eagerly. "No I want to. How about somewhere near the beach?"

She grinned. "Yeah, that sounds good. Something small enough that's it's cosy but not too small that we can't have people over."

"How about an apartment instead of a house?" He suggested.

"Yeah," she said excitedly. "And I think we should buy it before Dom finds out."

"I thought he was OK with me now?"

"He is," she chuckled. "But I'm still his baby sister."

He frowned. "Yeah, let's buy one then tell him."

She smiled as they both finished their hotdogs. She then pulled him up and over to the crowd so that they could dance. He rolled his eyes but couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face.

She did most of the dancing but that didn't seem to bother either of them. When slower songs came on Brain took more of a lead. Mia would always press herself closer to him. He sighed happily when she did it. It was a purely innocent act, she did it because it made her feel safe to be that close to him. Every single time he would tighten his grip on her so that they could both be sure that they were really there together. They danced for ages before they settled into a couple of chairs and relaxed.

They stayed long after it got dark and danced some more before Brian introduced her to a few people. After a few hours Mia's eyes started to droop so Brian said goodbye to a few people before carrying her to the car. When they got back to where they were staying he carried her to the room and settled her down on the bed. He covered her up and kissed her goodnight before he went to take a shower.

* * *

The next couple of days they did an array of things. They went to out to dinner, went shopping, relaxed, spent a lot of time in the bedroom and even looked at apartments online for back in LA. They managed to find a few and kept note of them so they could look at them when they got back.

When they finally did get back to LA they kept quiet about leaving the fort and finding their own place. They just told them about the rest of their time in Miami, while keeping a few intimate details to themselves. They then helped to set up the barbecue and tried not to discuss the apartments. They both kept smiling at each other and each tried to act cool whenever Dom sent them a questioning look. Those questioning looks only continued through the barbecue. They tried to ignore them as they talked to the others.

The looks soon started up again and continued through the rest of the night and into the next day. Dom definitely knew something was up. Luckily for them they had the house to themselves the next day. They looked online again and managed to narrow their list of apartments to five. They made appointments to see them in the next couple of weeks before they hid the evidence in their room.

They then headed over to the diner. It was quiet but Brian did all of the work seen as Mia had been pale looking all day. He made her sit and just tell him what needed to be done. She wasn't happy about it but she did it anyway. Even with Brian working alone he managed to get the place cleaned, ordered and restocked.

"What's up, Sis?" Dom asked as he sat down and put an arm around her.

"I don't feel well," she complained as she leaned against him.

"Do you want me to take you home?"

She shook her head. "I want to stay here."

"OK," he sighed. "But this is a diner so try not to throw up."

He chuckled so she hit him lightly. But then her hand flew up to her mouth and she ran towards the bathroom. The whole team watched the door she had disappeared behind.

"What's wrong with her, O'Conner?" Dom asked.

Brian shrugged. "No idea, she's been like that since we got back. Maybe it was something she ate?"

"She'll be fine," Letty assured as she massaged Dom's shoulders.

At that Mia came out and sat down. She put her head on the counter and groaned. Brian went to get her a glass of water while Vince sat beside her and rubbed her back. She sighed with relief as he did it. He would only stop whenever she tensed but would start back up again when she relaxed. They all looked worriedly at each other, they hated it when Mia was sick.

* * *

The next day Letty and Dom decided to go down to Miami themselves. They almost didn't go because of Mia but she insisted she was feeling better. They reluctantly went after she packed their stuff and put it into Dom's car.

After they were gone Brian, Mia, Leon and Jesse spent the day together while Vince went to the garage to work on his car. They went shopping (to which Mia choose most of the shops) and then settled down to lunch.

"So why do you two keep smiling?" Leon asked as they ate.

"Am I not allowed to be happy?" Mia asked.

"Course you are, Mi," he chuckled. "But it's been ever since you two got back from Miami."

"It's nothing, Le," she smiled. "Just being away for a couple of days made me realise how happy I am."

"I like it when you're happy," Jesse whispered before sipping his cola.

"Well," she smiled. "I'll make a conscious effort to be happy just for you."

He beamed up at her and continued to eat. She smiled as she watched him and settled back into her seat. She drummed her belly a little while the others ate.

"You didn't eat all of your sandwich," Brian frowned as he finished his own food.

"I'm afraid I'll be sick so I don't want to rush it."

He nodded. "But I'm gonna make you a snack later before dinner, you need to eat."

She sighed but nodded. They settled the bill then headed back to the car so they could go home. On the way back they talked some more, the topic was still about why they were smiling so much.

"Just tell us," Leon begged as they walked up the front path. "Did he propose?"

"No," Mia said.

"Thanks for that, man," Brian mumbled.

"Are you happy to not be tied down?"

"Maybe I want to be tied down," she suggested.

"What the hell are you two up to?" Leon groaned.

"Yeah," Jesse said as they went into the living room. "Spill."

"Guys, would you just-"

She dropped the bags and ran towards the downstairs toilet. Jesse and Leon looked worriedly at each other as Brian went over to the door. He knocked lightly and cringed when he heard her throwing up.

"Baby?" He asked unsurely.

"Go away," she groaned.

"No, can I come in?"

She didn't respond so he opened the door and slid inside. The smell was what hit him first then the sound. He almost turned around and left again but he made himself stay. He knelt down beside her and rubbed her back. He used his free hand to hold her hair back as she threw up again. He closed his eyes and made himself mutter assurances. Eventually she stopped and pushed away from the toilet. Brian helped her up so he could clean her mouth out and wash her face.

"I'm fine," she said after a minute or two.

"Mia..."

"Seriously, I'm fine. It'll be that stupid bug that's going around," Mia sighed. "But I'm OK for now so let's watch a movie."

He only nodded and guided her outside. Having overheard the conversation Jesse set up a movie and they all got comfy. Mia laid down with her head in Brian's lap. He rubbed her stomach as they watched and continued to do so even as they put on another movie. Vince came home just as that one finished but he froze when he spotted Mia. He watched her as they turned on the lights before going over to her. He crouched down in front of her. He gently put a hand on her hip.

"You OK?"

"Yeah, I think I have that bug thing," she smiled.

"Why don't you go and lie down upstairs for a bit? Or take a bath?"

"I don't want to," she mumbled.

Vince looked up at Brian. "You should take her to the doctors."

"I don't wanna go to the doctors," she whispered.

"I will, if it gets worse," Brian told him.

"She should've been already!"

They started to argue. It was all shouting but soon turned physical. They only stopped when Mia ran towards the bathroom again. However this time when she came out Brian was holding her coat out for her.

"What's this?" She asked as she took it from him.

"I'm taking you to the hospital to get checked over," he explained.

"It's just a bug," she complained.

"And if it is then maybe they can give you something to help."

She rolled her eyes and put her coat on. He guided her outside and opened the door for her. After he shut it he went round to his side. She was curled up in the seat and he smiled at her before heading towards the hospital. Mia didn't complain as they drove but she didn't look happy either. When they got there she almost didn't get out of the car.

They were waiting a while before a nurse came out to see them and guided them to a cubicle. "So what seems to be the problem?" She asked as Mia sat on the bed.

"She's been throwing up a lot and she thinks it's that bug that's been going around..."

"But you don't think it is, right?" she smiled.

"We're wasting your time," Mia sighed.

"Now, it's not a waste. Just sit back and I'll do some tests."

Mia relaxed and allowed the nurse to take some blood and ask questions.

"It does sound a lot like the bug," the nurse said.

Mia smiled happily but Brian ignored it. "But?"

"It could be something else."

"What?" Mia asked in surprise.

"Now, it might be a bit of a long shot," she started. "But is there any chance you could be pregnant?"

They both looked at each other. "Excuse me?" Brian croaked.

But Mia spoke first. "I'm not sure, but could that be what this is?"

She nodded. "Maybe. We can wait for your blood work to find out but we can always try an over the counter test in the mean time."

"The over the counter test," Mia said eagerly.

"I'll be right back, just wait here."

The nurse disappeared and Mia looked at Brian who hadn't moved. She tugged at his hand and whispered his name. He shook his head and blinked rapidly. After a few moments he held her hand.

"Could you be?"

"I'm late," she mumbled. "But it's happened before, and then with everything else I didn't think."

He nodded numbly. "I understand."

"Brian," she whispered.

He snapped out of his trance at her worried tone. "What is it?" He asked as he moved closer.

"The throwing up I get but I look ill, right?"

He nodded. "And?"

"If I'm pregnant I shouldn't look ill. If I am what if something is wrong with the baby?"

"We'll work that out when we know, OK?" He told her as kissed her forehead. "We'll be OK."

The nurse came back with the test and Mia made no hesitation in taking it and going to the toilet. When she returned the three of them waited patiently. After a few minutes she opened her hands and peered down.

"You better be ready," she said quietly.

He came to sit beside her and took the test from her open hands. "Really?"

"Yeah, but it could be false right?"

The nurse nodded. "Yeah the bloods will be a definite answer and it will tell us how far along you are."

"I can't be more than a month if I am," Mia whispered.

"You seem worried," the nurse noted.

"Everyone says I look ill... I guess I'm just worried that something isn't right..."

"Well you didn't know, so you weren't taking care of yourself properly," she smiled. "We'll talk you through what you need to do and check you over anyway."

"What if I'm not?" she asked quietly.

"Even so. It's better to start now instead of waiting for the blood results."

Mia nodded and the nurse disappeared. Brian felt his insides tighten. He wasn't worried about being a Dad, far from it, he was more worried about whether the baby was OK or not. He smiled as Mia looked up at him. She nodded and looked away again. He closed his eyes and counted in his head in an attempt to stay calm.

* * *

_Hey guys! I know a lot happens in this chapter but it was really short where I originally wanted to end it, so I hope you enjoyed it anyway._

_I'm also sad to say that the next chapter is the last one._


	20. Chapter 20

_Hey all you lovely people. Last chapter is here. I really do hope you enjoy it!_

* * *

Brian and Mia finally got the results back and as expected they were positive. Mia was pregnant, around four weeks to be exact. She took into account what the doctors had said. She cut out bad habits, tried to stay stress free and ate properly. Eventually she started to look and feel so much better, something the entire team was happy about. Brian and Mia still hadn't told them. They instead made plans to get their first ultrasound done at the end of the first trimester before they told the team.

During the time between finding out and the scan they looked at the apartments they listed. They managed to cut it down to just two. Although they struggled excessively with those two options. They rarely got to speak about as they were hardly alone and when they were they always ended up speaking about the baby.

"We need to pick," Mia complained.

"Why?"

"Because I want this sorted so we can move out and buy things for the baby," she explained.

"Honey, we have months to do that."

She shook her head. "What if something happens and we have to delay telling everyone? We're not a normal family, anything could happened."

"And you think we won't be able to get the stuff without them getting angry for not saying?" She nodded. "Come on. They'll work it out if we don't tell them. But I promise to try and pick today."

"Thank you!" She grinned widely and happily waited for them to arrive.

When they got to the first apartment they studied the interior while they waited for the estate agent. There was a small lawn and driveway up front which was good. Round back the garden was pretty big and would be suitable for having people round, or even for when the baby got older. There was a small patio area that had sliding doors leading out onto it.

When the estate agent finally arrived they wondered inside. The front door led straight into the living room. There was a coffee table, couch, chair, bookshelf, unit and TV. To their left was a door that led into a small room, one of the few that wasn't furnished. Behind the living room was the kitchen. It had all small and big appliances but not essentials like plates or cutlery. There was a small hall that led to the back of the house. The patio door was right at the end of the hallway. There were three other doors along the hall. One was a bathroom and the other two were bedrooms. Both had a double bed, wardrobe, shelving unit, mirror and TV. If they chose this apartment then they would pay for the furniture too then add some of their own things to it to make up for what was missing.

They spoke to the agent for a while before moving on to the other apartment. This one a good distance from the beach, shops and Toretto house. The garden was much bigger and had high fences so no one could easily see in. The front driveway was bigger so it could fit both Brian and Mia's cars. As they walked through the door they were greeted with a small opening connected to a hallway. To their left was a door that led to the kitchen. It had the main big appliances, counter tops, cupboards and a table with chairs. To the right of the open area was the living room. It was empty but the floors were wooden with a large fluffy rug in the middle and the space was massive. Down the hall was five doors. One was the bathroom which had plenty of space to move around. Another was the master bedroom which had a huge bay window inside and a ensuite. Another seemed to be another quite big bedroom. Instead of an ensuite it had a walk in wardrobe. The other two doors were empty but obviously supposed to be guest bedrooms. Although it wasn't fully furnished it was open, light and comfortable. Brian started to wonder why the choice had been so hard in the first place.

"So?" Mia asked hopefully as they moved away from the agent to discuss it.

"This one."

"You sure?" She smiled widely so he knew they both agreed.

"Yes. I love it. And it's the cheaper choice so all the money we didn't spend from what we saved can go on some furniture."

She nodded. "I'm so glad you picked this one!"

He chuckled lightly and kissed her forehead. "I'll go tell her then."

Brian went over and discussed details. He put down the deposit but she was sure that their offer would get them the place. Once papers were signed they headed back home. Mia had a smile on her face the entire time. They agreed not to buy anything big for the house till their offer was officially accepted and they signed the rest of the papers. They both tried to lose their excited expressions before they got home.

When they did arrive home Mia plopped down next to Vince and started to munch on the crisps he held in a bowl. He growled but she just hit him lightly and continued to eat. He rolled his eyes and sunk into his seat. Brian tried not to laugh as he sat with Leon and Jesse on the floor. They turned the playstation on after a while and the three took turns in playing.

* * *

Days passed and it was almost a week or so till the scan. The offer on the apartment had been accepted so Brian paid the money upfront. The deal would take a couple of weeks to go through before they got the official go ahead that it was theirs. That meant they had time to tell the others.

"I need to tell you something," Mia said. She bit her smile and tried to smile.

"What?" Brian asked urgently.

"Jesse, Leon and Letty know everything."

His eyes bulged. "Since when?"

"Couple of days ago," she said cautiously. "And Rome, Tej and Suki know too."

"So you left Dom and Vince till last?" he chuckled.

She nodded. "I'd rather wait till we have an apartment to hide in."

He smiled as he relaxed on the bed. He lifted up Mia's shirt slightly. He smiled at the tiny bump. You couldn't even tell it was there if you didn't know about it. She covered it up well. The size had worried them but they would ask about it properly at the scan. He ran his finger across it then settled on drawing patterns. He spoke quietly to himself as he did it, and sometimes he spoke to the baby even though it did make him feel kind of stupid.

"Is this all too soon?" He asked.

She tensed beneath his touch. "Don't you want him?"

"Him?" He asked curiously.

"I think it's a boy, just a feeling."

He smiled and moved to sit beside her. "I have that feeling too."

"So why do you think it all might be too soon?" she asked sadly.

"Just, it wasn't that long ago that I came back and you hated me."

"I never hated you," she sighed. "I hated what you did."

He nodded. "Still, can't you see where I'm coming from?"

"I do," she smiled. "But it's a stupid reason to think this is too soon."

"I guess. And we both seem to want him and that apartment so we're doing pretty well."

She snuggled close to him. "We're doing perfectly. And I hope we're alive long enough to enjoy it."

He chuckled lightly. "Yeah. I hope Dom takes all this news well so that he can stop Vince from killing us."

"You got his little sister pregnant and you're taking her away, you really think he's going to take it well?"

He scrunched his face up in disgust. "Well you're not that little," he said hopefully.

"We all know that but Dom doesn't seem to," she laughed. "Nah, we'll be fine."

They lapsed back into silence before Brian had a thought. He got up and went to stand in front of the bed. Mia looked at him with amusement.

"Ok this room is about the size of the master bedroom at the apartment, right?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Ok so I'ma talk you through some things, alright?" She nodded and he went to stand in front of the door. "So we walk in and there's a double bed straight a head of us. Above it is a nice looking picture. Either side of the bed are two small tables with lamps on them. On the left wall as you enter is a wardrobe. Maybe a chest of drawers too. We'll also put a shelving unit up. On the wall with the door we'll put a table and your vanity mirror. We'll also put a canvas wardrobe for the babies clothes and essentials. On the right wall as you enter there will be cot near the corner. It'll be near the window so we'll have to get black out blinds so the baby can nap. But on a positive note the cot will be near the attached bathroom incase we need it for him."

"Colour scheme? Decorations?" She asked, intrigued.

"Carpet or wooden floors, it's your choice. But a plain colour for most of the room with pictures. However around the cot should have colour or cartoon characters, maybe Tin Tin? And there should be soft lighting for the baby."

"How long have you been thinking about this?"

"Since I saw the room the day we made an offer," he shrugged.

"You really thought about him while deciding," she grinned.

"Well he needs us to think about him," he smiled as he laid down on the bed, head near her belly.

"Tin Tin?" She asked after a while.

"Loved him as a kid."

She chuckled. "What if its a girl?"

"Anything but barbie."

"Why not?" Mia asked curiously.

"Too obvious. Too average."

"And average is bad?" She was amused.

"Hell yeah, our baby is special."

Mia rubbed her belly and smiled down at Brian as he shuffled closer to her. His nose nudged the small bump and he rested his hand on it slightly.

* * *

The day of the scan finally came and Mia was suddenly very nervous. She finished up at the diner but Brian practically had to drag her to the car. When they got to the hospital she was more fidgety. He was too but he tried not to show it. Everyone who knew wanted to go but Brian and Mia insisted on doing it alone. As they waited they wished they had let them all come. They twiddled their thumbs till they were finally seen.

Mia laid down on the bed and lifted her shirt up. The nurse started the process just as Jesse, Leon and Letty came in.

"What are you guys doing here?" Brian asked.

The nurse was too busy to say anything so she didn't argue when Dom and Vince walked in too. Both look unamused causing Brian to gulp.

"Sorry," Jesse squeaked.

"O'Conner," Dom said as he advanced forward.

"Yes?" He croaked.

"You're dead."

"And I'm backing up that decision," Vince smirked.

"Look, it wasn't planned," he said hastily as he backed away.

"You're not helping yourself," Vince warned.

"Not planned?" Dom roared as he grabbed Brian. "You did this to her and it wasn't planned?"

"You make it sound like a bad thing! He isn't a bad thing!" Brian yelled.

"He?" Dom seemed to falter slightly.

"My son, we think its a boy. He wasn't planned but that doesn't mean he's any less important." He pushed Dom away. "Never say that he is! He is not a bad thing, screw you if you think he is!"

Dom looked angry still but a little unsure. He went to punch Brian and Vince looked just about ready to as well but then they all froze. Mia's cry filled the room. They all whipped round to look. She held her hand to her mouth and tears streaked her face. They all worried till they saw the happy look on her face. Vince and Dom both relaxed as they saw how happy she was.

"It's not a bad thing," Dom whispered to Brian.

"I know you worry about her but we're for good," Brian promised. "I won't hurt her again."

"That kid is the only thing keeping you on my good side," Vince muttered. "But screw up again and I'll come for you."

Brian nodded. He welcomed the threat and any others. It would keep him on his toes. He would never hurt Mia again but at least now he had threats to make sure he didn't screw up at all.

He wandered closer to Mia. She grabbed his hand and held it tightly. He kissed the top of her head as the nurse pointed everything out on the screen for him.

"Is the fact my bump is tiny a problem?" Mia asked.

The nurse shook her head. "The baby looks fine. Try eating more and if it continues to worry you just make an appointment."

"Good," Mia sighed.

"Still think its a boy?" Brian asked curiously.

"Yes, but I don't want confirmation yet. I'll find out when he gets here."

"Or she."

Mia grinned as she pulled the monitor closer to them. "Look!" She said excitedly as she stroked her belly then the screen. "Our baby. He's perfect, isn't he? Brian, look."

"I see him," he chuckled.

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek a few times as his fingers touched the screen. The nurse smiled and printed out a picture for them. Mia happily took it and kept watching it as she leaned against Brian. He watched the picture slowly and carefully. The first picture of their child. Everything was fine and healthy. He reached out and touched Mia's belly, trying to wrap his head around the fact that what he saw in the picture was beneath his hand. He definitely wouldn't screw this up.

**The End**

* * *

_R&R_

_You've all been wonderful. I love everyone who read, reviewed, favourited and followed. You're all so amazing. I do however what to specially thank McGarrett-Williams!_


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